Don't let me face my life alone
by hectatess
Summary: After leaving his home and girlfriend of nine years, because she is a lying skank, Dean finds he has an unexpected friend in Gabriel Novak. Gabe helps him get out there again, and eventually he even finds Dean a new place to stay... with his baby brother. Warning for Destiel or Sabriel
1. Chapter 1

The room was restless, but it was an anticipating kind of disturbance. Dean sighed and picked up the guitar. This was it. Tonight his life would change. The people in the room were waiting for him to get on stage and perform. Just like he did last year. Lisa's co-workers would listen to him and they would never know. Lisa would, and she would know **everything**. She'd know that he knew, and she'd know he'd never let it slide. Last year Dean had performed 'Lady in Red' and Lisa, in her flaming red dress, had smiled at him and danced with her boss, Brady.

Cussing, Dean straightened his shoulders. _'Just get though this. Then it'll all be over.'_ he thought and sighed. Stepping on stage, his eyes found Lisa unerringly. Lisa smiled widely and clapped her hands. Others looked around and started applauding too. Dean sat down on the stool and let his fingers find the chords.

"It started off so well.  
They said we made a perfect pair.  
I clothed myself in your glory and your love.  
How I loved you,  
How I cried."

 _ **In his mind, Dean was back at their house. He'd left for work, but had forgotten a form he needed to give Bobby. So he came back and when he had grabbed the paper, he heard Lisa on the phone. He was about to sneak out again, when he caught his own name. Stilling, he listened.**_

 _ **"Yeah, I know, Lilith. Dean is just... Yeah. I just hope he never finds out. No, I like Brady. He's so much more... Yeah, adventurous is one way of putting it..."**_  
 _ **Lisa had laughed softly, innuendo slotting in place with it. Dean's stomach had relocated around his knees, and he knew he should stop eavesdropping, but he couldn't.**_

 _ **"No! Don't be stupid, Lilith. We use protection, duh. I'm not sure Dean can't get me pregnant, but we have been trying for a while now... Yeah, I know. More frequent would mean more chances... Uhuh. No. Not with him. Good God, girl, use your head. Mmm. Maybe you're right. How would Dean know it's not his... I'll think about it."**_

 _ **Lisa's tone had told Dean the conversation was winding down, and he hightailed it out of there. Without Lisa knowing, he had started making plans. Things to do, affaires (fucking word meant too much different things) to get sorted. Bile had risen in his throat every time Lisa tried to make a move on him, and he'd pretended to sleep, or be too tired. Sometimes he gritted his teeth and played along, but most of the time he could avoid it. Weeks dragged into months. And then, she had told him, a radiant smile on her face. She was pregnant.**_  
 _ **Dean had been violently sick in no time. Lisa had thought it was sympathy vomiting, and beamed at him. Dean didn't correct her.**_

Tonight, Dean had shot a text to Sam and Bobby, just before grabbing the guitar. Everything was ready.

"Years of care and loyalty,  
Were nothing but a sham it seemed.  
Years belie,  
We lived the lie.  
I'll love you, 'til I die."

By now, Lisa wasn't smiling anymore. She eyed the stage with a questioning look, but Dean smiled easily, even though his heart felt empty and cold.

Lisa shrugged slightly, and turned back to her boss, who stood too close, hands lingering on her arm, her back, her butt. Dean played and sang, his mind blissfully empty. Water under the bridge. Over and done with. Closing the door, locking it tightly too. Screw her.

"The slate will soon be cleaned.  
I'll erase the memories.  
To start again with somebody new.  
Was it all wasted?  
All that love?"

From a dark corner of the room, near the exit, Dean suddenly saw two eyes staring at him. The person itself was in the shade, but their eyes gleamed, and watched Dean without blinking. Dean licked his lips and continued.

"I hang my head,  
And I advertise.  
A soul for sale or rent.  
I have no heart, I'm cold inside.  
I have no real intent."

Dean looked back at Lisa, who had raised one eyebrow at him, but she didn't stop talking with Brady. Brady laughed and pushed her hair from her ear to whisper in it. Dean saw, but he didn't care. He ignored them and kept going. He just had to get through this, then it would all be done.

"Save me, save me.  
I can't face this life alone.  
Save me, save me.  
I'm naked and I'm far from home..."

Lisa laughed at something someone said, head bent backwards, hair tumbling down her back. She looked ravishing, and Dean couldn't care less. Now that he'd lost his rose-coloured view, he saw how she flirted with most men, and a few women too. His mouth pulled down in a bitter frown, before he regained his composure and slipped the carefree mask back on.

The person in the corner followed Dean's gaze and a hand squeezed a paper cup until it was nothing but a crumpled up ball. Another, shorter, person got close and whispered something. A quick hug ensued and the taller person left, whilst the shorter one stepped out into the light. His eyes were a bit sad, which was unusual for him. His shoulderlength hair curled around his ears and in his neck as he slowly shook his head. "You're going to break one day, Dean-o. If not now, soon enough. You need someone to fall back on. I just hope you find the right one." He fished a piece of red rope candy out of his pocket and bit down on it.

Meanwhile, Dean was reaching the end of the song and a sadness filled him. After this, there was no turning back. Yet he would see it through, and brave whatever followed.

"Each night I cry,  
I still believe the lie;  
I'll love you, 'til I die.

Ohhh save me, save me, sa-ave me.  
Don't let me face my life alone...  
Save me, save me, ohoo-ooh..  
I'm naked and I'm far from ho-ome."

His fingers stilled, his head hung and his heart broke.  
Then someone started clapping, and others followed. The whole room applauded Dean, except for Gabriel, from maintenance, and Lisa who eyed Dean suspiciously. Dean stuck his carefree smile back on and bowed. That thawed Lisa out and she clapped too. Dean made his way backstage, where he unexpectedly met Gabriel. His sunshine-through-whiskey eyes were sympathetic as he took the guitar.

"Go. Scoot. I'll make up an excuse for you, Dean-o. I get the feeling you don't wanna be here any more than a vampire wants to sunbathe."  
Dean's mouth quirked in a semblance of a quick smile.  
"Thanks Gabe. I owe you one."

The 5'7" guy chuckled.  
"Yeah yeah... and one day I'll collect. Move your gigantic butt, bucko, before she comes looking for you."  
Dean dipped his head and grabbed his leather jacket. Lisa hated that thing.  
"What are you? A rebel teen? A peacoat is more mature." she used to say.  
Dean smirked and shrugged his shoulders into the comfortable warmth. The familiar weight and smell surrounded him like a warm hug. Dean hunched his shoulders and stepped out into the swirling snow.


	2. Chapter 2

Slamming the front door, Dean sighed. After one last glance at the house that he'd called home for seven years, he shouldered his duffelbag and made his way down the garden path. The snow was starting to pile up on it again and Dean smirked.  
 _'Guess I won't be clearing that up tomorrow!'_ he thought as he stepped onto the sidewalk. His last stuff was in the duffel, and he'd told Bobby and Sam he would see them at Bobby's place. The snow was falling thick and fast, but Dean stoïcly trudged on, as snow clung to his jacket and stuck in his hair. His lashes caught the flakes and they melted on his cheeks when he blinked.

Normally, Dean noticed cars as he walked, but his mind was too numb to see the '78 Continental Mark 5 that slowly drove by. He just dragged his feet through the snow on his way to the salvage. He knew it was a bit of a hike until he got to the edge of town and would hail a cab, but he felt he needed the time to give everything buzzing through his head it's own place.

Two blocks along the Continental drove by again, but by now Dean was so cold and caught up in his own swirling emotions, that it could have driven right up to him, and he wouldn't notice until it hit. The car slowed even more and stopped. The driver pulled out a cellphone and dialed a number while worriedly staring at Dean's retreating back.

Dean was starting to loose the feeling in is toes and his hands were almost frozen around the strap of his duffel, when a black and white patrolcar pulled up to the curb in front of him. He didn't notice, until the whiteness around him lit up, alternating blue and red.  
"Dean Winchester! You damn fool! Get in here!" a clear, female voice called out.  
Dean chuckled as he recognised it.

"Heya Sherrif. What are you doing here?"  
A dark figure, shorter than him, with a thick parka on, exited the car.  
"Might ask you the same thing, buster. Where are you headed in this abysmal weather?"  
Dean looked up, as if noticing the flurry for the first time.  
"Bobby's. I... I just..."  
The Sherrif had walked right up to him and was now scrutinising him with that 'mom-stare' she had.  
"Zip it. You're coming with me."

Dean spluttered.  
"But... I... you... Jodes..."  
Jody brushed her hair out of her eyes and sighed.  
"I ain't taking you in, Dean. I'm taking you to Bobby's. It's 10 degrees out, and with windchill we're down to 5. Don't make me kick your butt."  
Heaving a relieved sigh, Dean dumped his duffel on the back seat and tried to get in next to it.  
"Winchester! Didn't I just say I wasn't taking you in? Shotgun, pal. Pronto. I'm freezing my ass off."

Chuckling, Dean slid in the passenger seat.  
"Yes ma'am." he cheeked.  
"Shut up. What were you **thinking** , going on foot in these conditions?"  
Dean bit his lip, then rubbed it. His cheeks were stinging in the relative warmth of the car, but he couldn't tell for certain that it wasn't a blush.  
"I guess I underestimated it..."  
Jody huffed.  
"No shit, Sherlock. You ok there?"  
Dean slowly shook his head.  
"I don't know. I will be. Once I'm home."

The signifigance of that remark wouldn't have passed a blind elephant, and Jody was a sharp tack.  
"Home, huh? Allright. I'll get you there, safe and sound."  
She started the car and carefully pulled away from the curb, tyres crunching the fresh snow under their snow chains.  
"You just sit your pretty ass there and warm up, ok buddy?" Jody said in a caring tone, patting Dean on the knee.  
"Yes ma'am." Dean said again, but this time his tone was thankful. No cheek.  
The warmth in the car, along with everything else, had Dean nodding in no time. Before they'd reached the first intersection, he was asleep, head against the window.

"Bobby. Hi. It's Jody."  
Dean snorted and sat up. Peering out of the snow clogged window, he noticed they were nearly at Bobby's.  
"Hi there, Sherrif. What can I do for ya?" came Bobby's voice from the speaker.  
Jody glanced at Dean sideways.  
"Nothing much. Just get ready for your boy to get in. I picked him up on West Jordan. Would you believe he was **walking**?"  
Dean cringed, knowing full well how Bobby would react.  
"Balls! That idjet! You get his ass over here asap. We need to check him for frostbite, and chew him out for pulling that."  
Jody smirked at Dean, who huddled deeper in his jacket.  
"Good thing he was wearing his leather, and not that damned peacoat." she quipped and winked.  
"Yeah. Damn peachy. See ya soon, Jody."  
Jody shook her head at that and rang off.

When they pulled up on the driveway off of Sundowner, Dean sighed.  
In the golden light spilling out of the doorway, he saw the silhouets of his brother and surrogate father slash boss. Worry radiated off them like heat of a blacktop. Before Jody even shut the engine off, Sam was opening his door.  
"Dean! Are you ok?"  
Trying a wan smile, Dean looked into those hazel eyes, now mossgreen with worry.  
"Peachy, Sammy. Jodes kept me from turning into a popsicle."

Jody scoffed.  
"Sure. Only just. And all because a concerned guy called me to say he saw you, wandering around. He said, and I quote: "He looks lost and heartbroken. I fear he might do something stupid." What's the deal here, guys?"  
Dean groaned.  
"Can we get inside, please? I'll fill you in there."  
Jody looked at Bobby, then at Sam, who both nodded and Dean found himself being hoisted up by his sasquatch brother.  
"C'mon then, Dean. Time for a fireside chair and a good drink."  
Dean let Sam manhandle him inside and out of his jacket and boots, but he drew the line when Sam tried to undo his jeans.  
"I'm good, Sam. They'll dry out, or I'll take em off later."

Once Dean was pampered, wrapped in a warm blanket, hot Cocoa (which may or may not have a shot of something 'medicinal') in hand, and a good licking about not being an idjet and wandering off in the blistering South Dakota winter, Jody finally got her chance.

"Dean, why does an anonymous male, who knew exactly who you are, call me to tell me he fears you might do something stupid, like walk all the way here in an impending blizzard with lows nearing 5 degrees?"  
Sam sighed and Bobby sat back, clearly leaving the answering all up to Dean.  
"I... I left Lisa."  
There. He said it. It was final now. No turning back.  
Jody gasped, then leaned in, lower arms resting on her knees, hands clasped together.  
"Honey... why? What happened?"  
Her compassionate tone, the worry evident, made Dean bite down on his lip to not let the tears escape. He'd cried enough about this in the solitude of his bedroom, those times when Lisa was 'working late' and he'd known he would smell strange cologne on her when she got in.

"She cheated on me. With Brady, and probably others too. It's been going on for ages now."  
Jody put her hands over her mouth.  
"And... the baby?"  
Dean scoffed, a bitter scowl on his handsome face.  
"87% sure it is not mine. I overheard her talking to that friend of hers, Lilith. She said she used protection with Brady, but halfway through that talk she seemed ok with stopping, just to get pregnant."  
He shook his head.  
"I know I've been busy and tired lately, but not that much. I usually put out, you know. But after I overheard that, I just couldn't. Sometimes I did, to not have to fight, or suffer her silent treatment the next day, but... No. When I didn't know, we tried. She never got pregnant, and all of a sudden, a few months after that talk, she does... Nope, not buying what she's selling."

Jody shook her head.  
"I... I don't know what to say, hon. Just... I'm glad you left. This must have been killing you. When did you find out?"  
Dean sipped his Cocoa (definitely with something 'medicinal' in it) and answered.  
"May. Just after Sammy's birthday."  
Confused, Jody tilted her head.  
"Dean, it's December, almost Christmas. Why wait this long?"

Dean just stared at the fire, and Sam stepped in.  
"Legalities mostly. They bought the house together, a lot of stuff was on both their names. Even if they weren't married, a lot of things had to be taken care of."  
His slender hand came to rest on Dean's shoulder, transfering a calm and consoling energy. Dean lay his head on Sam's hand in appreciation.  
"Bobby and I emptied the house of most of Dean's stuff tonight, while they were at the Christmas party at Lisa's office."

Jody widened her eyes at that.  
"Oh God... the party... you... you still sang?"  
A vindictive satisfaction coursed through Dean.  
"Heh... I did. My parting gift, so to say. She should get it by now..."  
At Jody's puzzled look, Sam clarified in a whisper.  
"He sang 'Save me.' by Queen..."  
Dean could see Jody browsing her mental catalogue for the song, and when she found it, her eyes widened comically.  
"Oh wow... Brutal..."

Dean smiled grimly around the lip of his cup.  
"True though. I only sing from the heart. And this was what was in it."  
He curled up in the chair and effectively excluded himself from any conversations. He could hear Sam, Bobby and Jody talk about him, Lisa and what had happened, but he didn't register anything. He watched the flames and oddly enough, the only thing on his mind was: who was that guy that had called Jody? And how did he know Dean?


	3. Chapter 3

Waking up was pleasant. Not having to pretend, beeing able to be grouchy and grumpy and not getting dressed. Dean revelled in it for a while, until Sam came in carrying a tray filled with breakfast.  
"Morning. You good?" he asked, putting the tray on the bedside cabinet.  
Dean stretched and sat up.  
"Yeah. As good as gets, I guess. What's with the hotel treatment? I'm not sick."  
Sam smirked as he passed a plate of bacon, eggs and toast.  
"It's just once, you know. To... celebrate isn't quite the word I guess..."  
Dean took the cutlery Sam offered.  
"Works for me. I'm happy to be shot of this whole situation. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad you talked sense into me last May. I would've left so fast the soundbarrier would have broken, but then I'd have lost so much. Now all that's left is for her to sign those damned papers, and it's over."

Sam hummed and fiddled with Dean's phone.  
"Dude. Why are you messing with that?"  
A quick glance, then a frown.  
"It kept buzzing last night. I don't really wanna give it to you and ruin your good mood."  
Sam still kept his eyes fixed on the piece of hardware that sat, black and a bit omnious, in his gigantic palms.  
Dean thought about it.  
"Tell you what. I'll eat my breakfast, and then you give it to me."  
Sam nodded and put the thing down.  
Dean smiled encouragingly and stuffed a big bite of eggs and bacon in his mouth. Sam smiled back and they talked about anything but Lisa and last night.

With a satisfied groan, Dean pushed his empty plate away.  
"Mmm. Good eats, Sammy. I could get used to this." he said with a teasing grin.  
Sam chuckled and pushed his brother against the shoulder.  
"Don't. I told you: this is a one time thing."  
Dean sobered and sighed as he picked up his phone.  
"I guess I'd better brave this, huh?"  
Biting his lip in sympathy, Sam nodded.  
"I guess you must. I'm here, Dean."  
He put his hand on Dean's knee.

With a deep breath, Dean opened his phone.  
"10 new messages... oh God."  
He felt nauseous, but opened the app.

Received at 1.47 am Lisa:  
Dean, what the Hell?  
I had to hear from the JANITOR that you left earlier on?  
And what was that with that song?  
I guess I'll get a ride home with Lilith.

Received at 2.02 am Lisa:  
Dean. Where are you?  
Someone's been in here, I can tell.  
I think we might have been burgled.  
Call me!

Received at 2.16 am Lisa:  
Dean... Again what the Hell?  
I called the Sherrif, and she told me to sleep off my buzz and leave you be.  
She said maybe things would be clearer after some sleep.  
Where the fuck are you?

Received at 2.20 am Lisa:  
Screw you, Winchester.  
I'm going to sleep, and if burglars have made off with your prescious music collection, I'm not bothered.  
I hope whomever you're screwing, she's worth it.

Received at 2.21 am Lisa:  
Oh my God.  
Is it the Sherrif?  
Are you boinking her?  
It is, isn't it?

Dean mockingly gagged at the thought.  
"What the Hell was she thinking? Jody is like the mom we didn't have! Ewww!"  
Sam bit his lip though.  
"Sounds like she didn't get the hint, Dean. Nor did she find your letter and the papers. This could get weird."  
Dean shrugged.  
"I still have a few messages to go..." he said and looked back at his phone.

Received at 2.25 am Lisa:  
Dean... please answer me.  
Think of our baby.

Received at 2.32 am Lisa:  
Fine!  
But don't think I'm giving you custody of our kid!

Received at 2.36 am Lisa:  
Dean... are you ok?  
Tell me you're not dying in a ditch somewhere.

Received at 2.51 am Lisa:  
Ok. I'm definitely going to sleep.  
I'll see you do the walk of shame tomorrow, I guess.

Received at 7.47 am (555-15884207)  
Morning Dean-o!  
It's Gabriel. I lifted your number from that skank's computer.  
I hope you are ok. You sure seemed off last night.  
But who's to blame you, right?  
She didn't notice you left, until after midnight.  
Brady drove off with her at around ten minutes past.  
I'm sorry, bucko.  
Call me when you wake up. I just wanna make sure you lived.  
The number is 555-15884207, in case your phone doesn't show it.

Dean looked up at Sam.  
"Here, read this..." he said, showing Gabriel's message.  
Sam raised his eyebrows.  
"Wow. Guess you made a friend, huh? Maybe, maybe... maybe that's who called Jody last night..."  
Dean thought about it.  
"Couldn't be. He was at the party to tell her I left. Lisa always calls him a janitor, even though he is head of maintenance. Plus, the caller had told Jody exactly where I was walking."

Sam hummed, his face pensive.  
"True... but I can't shake the feeling this guy was somehow involved in that."  
Dean hummed, thinking.  
"I don't know. But I should call him, if only to tell him I'm ok. He seems genuinely concerned."  
He eyed his phone.  
"Just one more message left..."  
He sighed and opened it.

Received at 9.13 am Lisa:  
Dean...  
Where are you? Are you ok?  
What happened here?  
Our house has been meticulously emptied, but not completely.  
Have we been burgled?  
But they left the tv and took your laptop.

Dean shook his head as he showed Sam his phone.  
"God... how can she be so clueless? Guess I still wasn't clear enough."  
He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair.  
Determinedly he tapped out his message, showing it to his brother for approval, before hitting 'send'.

Sent at 10.11 am to Lisa:  
Lisa,  
I'm ok.  
To get what happened, you need to do two things.  
Think hard and deep about last night (read your text history to see if it triggers anything) and get the envelope from the diningroom table.  
Dean

He nodded, satisfied with his message.  
He tapped some more, under Sam's questioning gaze, and held up his finger as a sign he should hold on.  
"Hey, Gabriel. It's Dean. Yeah... I'm ok. The Sherrif picked me up before I tried walking to my boss' house. Yeah. I know. Not too smart, but I'm ok. Thanks for caring, man. Uhuh. I'm settled for now, though. I'll see to other arrangements later. Right now I need family. Hmhm. Yeah, my brother is here and Bobby is kind of my surrogate dad. Yeah. Ok. Take care. Happy holidays, man."

He smiled and added Gabriel to his contacts list.  
Then he shut off his phone, ringer still on silent.  
"I don't wanna know if it buzzes, Sam. You got that? I'll check in later."  
Sam nodded, fully understanding his need for radio silence.


	4. Chapter 4

Bobby had chewed him out for trying to walk, even though he told him he had planned on taking a cab at the edge of town.  
"Even I'm not stupid enough to go traipsing along Sundowner. Especially in the snow and well after dark."  
Bobby had scoffed, slapped him upside the head and told him to get his head on straight before work started again after the holidays. After that, he had hugged Dean and offered him a beer.

True to his word, Dean didn't check his phone until after dinner.  
It had 3 new messages.

Received at 10.27 am Lisa:  
What the fuck, Dean?  
You're LEAVING me?  
What about our baby?  
I'm not giving this up without a fight.  
I'm not signing anything, until I have a lawyer.

Received at 10.43 am Lisa:  
Dean...  
Please. Can we talk about this?  
I'm sorry.  
Call me. Ok? I can explain.

Dean nearly threw his phone across the room, and only the fact that the last message was from Gabriel was reason enough to still his hand.

Received at 1.38 pm Gabriel:  
Hey buddy!  
Just letting you know I'm keeping an eye out and an ear to the ground for new living quarters for you.  
Even if she is co-operative, a break up involving such a long time and a house and shit will take a bit to clear up.  
Just gimme a sign that you need a new home, and I will see what I can scrounge up.  
In the meantime: how about a holiday drink on the 23rd? I know just the bar.  
Lemme know, ok? See ya soon!  
Gabe

Sam patted Dean on the back.  
"Let her stew for a bit, huh. If she claims the kid is definitely yours, get a test done. Reading between the lines of the texts this 'Gabe' character sent you, I'm certain her little missteps were not unnoticed. Go, have that drink with him, and maybe you can find out a bit more."  
Dean sighed.  
"I will, and I will get a new number. I'm so done with this. I don't want her clogging up my messages with this crap."

So, Dean got a new number and he agreed to meet Gabe at the bar he mentioned.  
When he got there, Gabe was nowhere in sight, so, he slid onto a stool and signaled the bartender.  
The guy turned and Dean felt the breath being punched out of him. Such amazingly blue eyes! And in a nice face too. About 6 feet tall, dark hair, a bit of a stubble and pink, pink lips, even if they were a bit chapped. The guy seemed somewhat familiar, and hot as Hell. Dean licked his lips. He'd come to terms with being bi-sexual years ago, but then he had met Lisa and... Well, for nine years it just didn't matter. But now, now Dean could oggle the sexy bartender as much as he wanted. The black shirt with the bars's name and logo stretched over the lanky, yet muscular frame and two identical smidgens of black on the back of his upper arms showed he had tattoos. Dean nearly groaned in delight. _'Oh God! Tattoos. All tattoos are sexy! Now I wanna know what they are...'_

Meanwhile, the guy had moved his sexy butt over to Dean and his voice cut right through Dean's thoughts.  
"Hello, Dean. What can I get you to drink?"  
His voice was deep, gravelly and the aural equivalent of sex. He could recite the phonebook and Dean would shiver. It knocked him for a loop and he didn't even notice the man had said his name.  
"Yeah, ehm... I'd like a beer for now please."  
One corner of the bartender's pink mouth twitched up.  
"Of course. Tap or bottle?"  
Dean swallowed thickly.  
"Wha..whatever is on tap will be fine... Thanks."  
The man inclined his head in aknowledgement and turned towards the taps and glasses, leaving Dean to catch his breath and eye up the way those jeans fit that tight butt. _'Good lord, I would tap that...'_

Nursing his beer, Dean tried to not oggle the bartender too much. In his profession and with his looks, he must get a lot of sexually tinted comments, so Dean kept them to hisself. Besides, he was probably straight as the proverbial arrow.  
"Hey, Dean-o! I see you found it allright!"  
Dean turned around to see Gabriel coming up to him.  
"Hey. Yeah. I found it fine. Nice place."  
As he said it, his eyes slid towards the bartender and snapped back to Gabe. It would be rude to stare, not to mention impolite towards Gabe, who invited him over.

Gabe chuckled.  
"Yeah... you could bounce a quarter off of that ass." He whistled low.  
"Tight... like the jeans."  
Dean's cheeks lit up.  
"Shut up, Gabe."  
Gabriel grinned at him, all mischievous twinkles and dimples.  
"What? I can say that. He doesn't mind. Besides, there's no rule that says a guy can't flirt with men."  
Dean tilted his head.  
"You're gay or bi?"  
Gabe scoffed.  
"Naah. Pan. Don't care what's In your pants, or what used to be there. As long as you're sweet and have a nice bod."

Dean grinned.  
"Yeah. I can see that. I'm bi myself."  
Gabriel grinned even wider.  
"Thank God!" he said, louder than Dean would have liked.  
"Why thank him?" Dean asked, curious.  
A wink and a mischievous glance at the bartender.  
"Here I was, thinking you were so far in the closet that you discovered Narnia!"  
Again, he said that louder than Dean deemed necessary. He could see the tips of the bartender's ears tinge red.

"Ok. I'll bite. Why would you think that?"  
Gabe rolled his eyes so far up, Dean thought they might roll back in his head.  
"Cause, you muttonhead, you were all lovey-dovey with Lisa the octolady, but I caught you checking out Castiël's ass."  
Dean frowned. Castiël. Where had he heard that name before? Suddenly it came to him.  
"The silent type, from accounting? Dark sexhair, always in a navyblue suit and backwards blue tie? Yeah... he has a great ass in that suit."  
Gabriel smirked and his sunshine-through-whiskey eyes twinkled as he looked over Dean's shoulder at the bartender.  
"Hi. A strawberry daiquiri, please?"

The bartender licked his pink lips and his deep blue eyes looked daggers at Gabriel for some reason.  
"Sure. Coming up. You want another tap?" he asked Dean, forcing a polite smile.  
Dean felt sorry for him. He didn't ask to be objectified and oggled.  
"Yeah. That'd be great, thanks. And I'm sorry if my pal here made you uncomfortable. I'll tell him to can it."  
That earned him one of those crooked smiles and Dean felt something warm bubble in his stomach.  
"That's ok. I'm used to it. He never knows when to quit."  
That was a warning if Dean ever heard one, but Gabe just chuckled and winked at the guy.  
"You know me... and you love me." he quipped.  
The bartender smirked and shook his dark haired head.  
"Shut up, Gabriel." he rumbled in that deep voice and started getting their orders.

Dean had to admit it. After the initial disaster with the bartender, Gabe had turned out to be a great guy. A bit weird and mischievous at times, but good for a laugh and, honestly, Dean could see them becoming besties. Seeing that they were out for a drink, Dean had had the foresight to come in a cab. So when they left the bar in a slightly inibriated state, he got ready to hail another one and bid Gabe farewell.  
"We gotta do this again, bud. I had fun!"  
Gabe nodded and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.  
"I'll see when that cutie is working again, so we can come here and you can flirt with him."  
Dean chuckled.  
"That'd be nice. I never looked twice at another guy in nearly a decade..."  
Gabe giggled.  
"Yeah you have! Don't deny it! You look at Castiël's ass every time he walks by you."

Dean grinned.  
"Yeah That's true... but geez, that ass is just... wow!"  
In his mind, Dean put his hand on that ass, imagining it firm, like the bartender's. Another great ass, which he had looked at repeatedly that night.  
"God, Gabe... I'm running wild now... I just realised I have oggled the bartender all night, without shame. I'm bad!"

Gabe laughed out loud.  
"Naah. You're free Dean-o... you're finally free. She had you in her clutches and you didn't even realise it. I'm sorry you had to have your heart broken, but I'm glad you showed your brass ones by dumping her. The way she treated you... She needs Karma to come bite her in the ass."  
Dean thought that over, then chuckled.  
"What better Karma, than for me to hook up with a guy?"  
Gabe smirked, a glint in his eyes.  
"Or better. Have your next true relation with one!"  
Dean laughed as he flagged down a cab.  
"That would be AWESOME! And for it to stick. You know, true love and shit... I could marry him now."  
For some reason, that sounded perfect.


	5. Chapter 5

The holidays passed in a blur of food and good friends coming by to eat, be merry and ask Dean why he was there and how come he suddenly changed his number. After the clifnotes on that one, most started shaking their head and telling him "Yeah she flirted with me once or twice too." Sometimes they admitted that it had happened right in their homes, with significant others in the other room. Dean started to loathe having someone come over and ask him about the short and long of it.

"What's up, bitches?"  
Dean perked up. Charlie! Their friendly neighbourhood geek and lesbian. God, he had missed her!  
"Hi there, oh Queen. What's happening? Why didn't you come over on Christmas?"  
Charlie tucked a strand of her flaming red hair behind her ear and sighed.  
"I got pulled. Emergency hackjob at a big firm. Someone had inadvertedly managed to lock down their entire safetynet just before the holidays. If some big brass hadn't thought of putting in another hour or two before heading towards the pudding and inlaws, they'd have had one Hell of a time trying to get started after New Years."  
Dean whistled.  
"Bad news... but you cracked it?"

Charlie grinned, her grey eyes sparkling.  
"Duh, you dweeb. That's why they pulled **me**... Anywho... The Queen demands to know why her loyal handmaiden didn't tell her he left that lying trollop."  
Taken aback, Dean worked his mouth like a fish out of water. Nope. Words were not forming, so Dean cleared his throat.  
"How the Hell did you know?"  
Another grin, accompanied by a punch to the shoulder.  
"A: I'm awesome, B: you're here as opposed to that Living Today house you used to call home. And C: you changed your number! Sure you texted me about it, but, Dean... you had that number for like fifteen years!"

Dean considered this, and had to admit it was all true.  
"And the lying trollop bit?"  
He **had** to ask.  
A sly glance from under the red hair.  
"She repeatedly tried to get some of this."  
Charlie gestured at herself and Dean felt sick.  
"And you declined. That's why she stopped inviting you."

Charlie nodded.  
"She was smooth about it though. Just forgetting the invite once, then a bit more, and within a month or three, I'm out of the Circle of Trust. I never said anything, because, hey, you looked happy enough."  
Thinking back, Dean sighed.  
"Looked... yeah I guess. But deep down, I wasn't. She'd smoothly pruned out anything that I liked and she didn't. My leather jacket, you, my classic rock playing constantly in the background, my tatty jeans, scotch any time of the day, going to the bar with Benny... fuck, even Benny!"  
He slapped his hand to his head.  
"She tried something there, didn't she?"  
He eyed Charlie, who looked uncomfortable.

"Please, my Queen. I need to know. I can take it..."  
Charlie looked up, her eyes big and pleading.  
"Don't make me do this..."  
She sounded scared and broken, and Dean hated it.  
"Come on Charlie... tell me. I won't freak out, promise."  
She nodded and fiddled with her phone.

Not two seconds later, Sam stepped through the door.  
"Hey Charlie. How's my Queen?"  
She smiled wanly.  
"In need of moral support from her brave Knight."  
Sam glanced over at Dean, who realised that with her fiddling, she had somehow messaged his little brother over. She had known something like this would happen.  
"Great. Now I'm a liability? Geez. Spit it out already. I'm good."

Sam surreptiously stepped aside, and placed himself there where he could either yank Charlie out of the way, or grab his brother. Of course Dean noticed. _'How unstable do they think I am? I'd never hurt either of them...'_ he thought, worry squirming in his guts. This had to be bad.  
Charlie cleared her throat and Sam put a supportive hand on her shoulder. She put her own hand over that, as if to anchor herself. So, soooo bad.

"It was one of the last times you went out to the bar, with Benny. You were both pretty smashed, and you had slurred at Benny to crash on the couch, so he did. Somewhere down the night, she had found out, and started waking him up. Drunk as he was, he thought he was home, with Andrea. So when she kissed his cheek, he reacted..."  
Dean bit his lip and his fists were clenched. He could see where this was going.  
Charlie swallowed hard as she saw how tense Dean was getting.  
"Do I have to?" she squeaked in a terrified voice.  
Sam squeezed her shoulder softly, but nodded.  
"You're part of this..."

Charlie sighed, head drooping.  
"I know..." was formed on another sigh.  
"Ok.. here goes... Benny reacted how he normally did with Andrea..."  
Dean nodded curtly.  
"Which was to start making out. I remember. He told me that so many times. And I told Lisa, because I thought it was sweet. Fuck, I handed her the tools myself..."  
Charlie placed a soft hand on his arm.  
"Don't blame yourself, Dean. She'd have found another way..."  
Dean sighed, sad in the knowledge that she was right.

"So, making out... right. And, well... That's where I come in. You were blissfully snoring, and forgot we had a date to pick out a new chainmail for you, but she didn't. She made sure they ended up cuddling on the sofa butt naked. So when I popped in, I found them. Lisa had already come on to me quite strongly twice, and I knew something was off with her, but this caught me by surprise. So I start chewing her out and our bickering wakes Benny up. Now, he's a bit confused, and I was happy to let him be. I knew he'd never consciously cheat on Andrea, but Lisa started freaking out. She begged us to not tell you. Didn't you deserve to be happy? And us telling you would mean you'd be heartbroken, we didn't want that, did we? Then she shoos me out, telling me to wake you. I skedaddled, but only to the hallway, so I could still hear what was going on. She threatened Benny to tell Andrea, unless he'd fade out of your life. When he had called her a conniving skank and grabbed his stuff to leave, I took my cue to go get you."

Dean was trembling by now. He slowly turned away from Charlie and Sam, and walked to the door.  
"I'll be outside. We need more firewood." he said, tone short and clipped.  
He grabbed his coat and made his way out of the house.  
Behind one of the sheds, a chopping block was waiting for him, and he eagerly found his way there.

When Sam came for him, Dean had made his way through three quarters of the pile of logs and his arms were burning with exertion. His cheeks were stinging from where the frost had bitten into them, searing in the salt of his angry tears.  
"Dean... come on in. You must be frozen." Sam tried.  
"Go away, Sam." Dean bit out, swinging the ax another time, the smacking thud jolting through him.  
Sam sighed and turned, leaving Dean to chop on.

A firm hand on his shoulder had Dean take in a startled breath.  
"C'mon son. We're settled for the month now. I'm going for a drink. Ya comin'?" came Bobby's gruff voice.  
Dean let go of the ax handle.  
"She **used** him, Bobby. She used him to strengthen her grip on me. And she used Charlie to get rid of him... How was I so blind to not see her true colours?"  
Bobby looked him in the eyes and took his shoulders.  
"Don't blame this on yourself, son. That lying piece of slime had most of us fooled. Heck, I thought you were great together. When Sam said he didn't trust her, I thought he was just being protective."

Dean clenched his jaw.  
"I know dad might have seen through her..."  
Bobby scoffed.  
"Wouldn't bet on that. She was pretty good in showing what she wanted to. Now, c'mon. I need a stiff drink."  
Dean nodded and followed him in, where Sam and Charlie sat, anxiously waiting for them.

After a few shots of gutrot, Dean suddenly turned to Sam.  
"Bobby told me you didn't trust her..."  
Sam lowered his head, hands clenched around his glass. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. Dean knew him well enough to understand perfectly. She had come on to him too...  
"That bitch... trying with my own brother. Fuck I'm glad I'm shot of her!"  
Sam flinched, making Dean get up and put an arm around him.  
"We're ok, Sammy. She couldn't drive us apart. Never. Hell, I'm not even mad at Benny. She is just a conniving, lying, manipulating bitch, and I fell for it."  
Getting up and pouring another drink, he straightened his shoulders.  
"Well not anymore. She can go to Hell for all I care!"  
He raised his glass with such vehemence, half of the contents slipped over the rim and onto his outstretched arm.  
"Here's to freedom!" Dean called and downed the rest of his glass in one go.

Of course it ended with him being so drunk, he passed out with a pair of clean boxers on his head, a tie (probably Sam's) loose around his neck and a lipstick moustache, curtesy of Charlie, who thought a magnificent wizard-handmaiden like Dean, needed a moustache. Preferably a fuschia one. Bobby had sat in his chair, drinking and muttering about 'Dang idjets, not being able to hold their liquor' and 'better not toss their cookies on my rug, else they're on cleanup duty for a month!', whilst Sam had picked up some dusty book about the lore on kelpies. Where he found it had been a nice quest for the Queen and her trusty handmaiden, until Sam blew it by grumpily stating he had really just yanked an interesting looking volume out of one of Bobby's bookcases.


	6. Chapter 6

New Years came and went, and Dean found some sort of routine pretty damn fast. He was super glad he never gave in to Lisa asking him to come work at her office. She came home with numerous offers, at the helpdesk, at the mailroom, at accounting (which had been tempting, because then he could have watched Castiël's ass all day every day, but no. That would not have been enough to make him happy) and even in the cafeteria. But Dean had declined them all and said working on engines and brakelines all day with Bobby was all the job he ever needed.

Now he slept in, because he didn't have to stand in gridlock for fifteen to thirty minutes to get at the salvage. He rolled his pretty ass out of bed and after a bit of primping and priming, he was downstairs and had his hands in an engine. Of course he knew he needed a place of his own. He couldn't mooch off of Bobby forever. Bobby loved his company, but their privacy was not all that. And, as Gabe had put it on their first night out in the new year, if Dean was to go back out there, it could be awkward to have your surrogate parent walk in on you. And Dean knew that went both ways. Bobby was no spring chicken, but he wasn't a monk either.

For now, Dean had tried to find an apartement, but they were expensive and even though he had rights to half of the value of the house he bought with Lisa, she still hadn't signed. Loathe as he was to contact her again, Dean feared he would have to.  
"Sam, you're the big shot lawyer here. How can I get her to sign and let go?" he asked, one Saturday, when Sam came over for lunch. Sam sighed.  
"I'm afraid you can't force her to sign. But I'm willing to be your representative and see if we can shake her tree a bit."  
The offer was sincere enough, but Dean was a bit worried.  
"Isn't that a conflict of interests? I mean, you're my brother..."

"I could get Cole to do it. He's almost done interning, so I trust he's capable enough."  
Dean bit his lip.  
"I can't afford your firm, Sam." he started, but Sam waved him off.  
"We do pro-bono cases too, Dean. And no, that's not a fancy way of saying charity. It's equal rights to proper defense or legal aid. So take it."

That was why Dean was now sitting in the reception area of Lisa's firm, with Cole at his side. His leg jumped and nothing Cole said made him relax. Lisa was in a meeting and would be out 'soon'. Dean hated 'soon'. It meant anywhere between now and over an hour.  
"Geez... I haven't been this nervous since highschool, when the principal tried to get a hold of Dad because I threw a stinkbomb though the window..."

Suddenly a warm hand landed on his left shoulder and over the other a hot cup of coffee was pressed into his hand. When Dean looked up behind him, he saw the retreating back of a guy. His heart skipped a beat. Navyblue suit, dark sexhair and, oh yeah, there it was... that sexy ass. Castiël. How the Hell did he know Dean was there, and that he **really** needed a hot coffee?

Dean sipped the coffee, delighted to find it perfect. No sugar or cream, not that liquid dirt that came out of the vendingmachines, but honest to God executive level coffee.  
"Wow. That secretary was nice. He even got me a packet of sugar and some real cream." Cole said, stirring his cup lightly.  
Dean followed Castiël with his eyes.  
"Castiël isn't a secretary. He works in accounting. He's smart and, apparently, very nice."  
Dean sipped his coffee again.  
"I'm grateful he made the wait that much less annoying. I really needed this." Cole smiled, and Dean had to agree. The coffee made the wait a lot more agreeable.

Gabriel came sauntering down the hall and grinned as he spotted Dean.  
"Hello! What in the blazes are you doing here?"  
Dean smiled up at him and introduced him to Cole.  
"We're here to see if we can persuade Lisa to sign some papers. I need to have that money from the house, or I can't get an appartement. And I really should, right?"  
Gabriel hummed and nodded. Then he tilted his head.  
"Cups? Where did you get these?"  
Dean drained his and looked at it.  
"Castiël brought them to us. The receptionists didn't offer us any, but all of a sudden he pops up with two hot cups of coffee."  
Gabriel smiled, then frowned.  
"Just a mo, fellas. Be right back." he said and darted off towards reception.

When he got back, his eyes were dark and his usual smile was gone.  
"That stuck-up, vindictive bitch... She ordered them to not offer you anything and to tell you she was in a meeting. Hang on. I'll get her down here for you."  
He pulled out a laptop, and his fingers danced across the keys.  
Down the hallway upstairs, a phone started ringing. Lisa's voice answered it and then they heard her gasping out an "oh God!"

Hasty heelclicking announced her approach and she ran by them, out into the parkinglot. She looked around, then her shoulders released tension and she turned back inside.  
"A glitch in my carjacking alert system I guess." she explained to Marley at reception.  
"I got the automated alert call, but my car is fine. I'll go back to..."  
Gabriel cut in by stepping in her line of view.  
"Hi Lisa! You got company, did you know? Since it is against policy to keep guests in the reception area for more than an hour, I'm sure you knew. They have been here 55 minutes. If you do not attend to your guests, it will be a pay deduction, am I right?"  
Lisa spluttered, but waved Dean and Cole on.  
Gabe winked at them and packed away his laptop.

Lisa showed Dean and Cole into a meeting room. She sat down and eyed them coldly.  
"Why are you here?" she demanded.  
Dean sighed. He was not the bad guy here, he had to keep that in mind, or she would wipe the floor with him. Thankfully, Cole started talking.  
"Well, miss Braeden... We were wondering if you had signed the papers about the house yet. As you know, Dean has full rights to half of it's worth, and unless you buy him out, he can demand you liquidate the house."  
Lisa blanched, then her cheeks got blotchily red.  
"You wouldn't dare! He still has his kid to think about!"

Cole smiled a bland, professional smile and knit his fingers together on the tabletop.  
"Actually... seeing how you can't claim it is his until there has been a paternity test, I think you will find we can and will do so. You have three months in which to decide wether you want to pay up, or liquidate. Thank you for your time, ms Braeden. We will find our own way out. You should mind the baby."  
Admiring how Cole could be calm and collected, yet still burn someone like that, Dean followed his example and stood.  
"Dean... please! Think about the baby. He should have a father..." Lisa plead.  
Dean shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
"Low, Lisa. Very low. Playing on my family instincts like that. You should have thought about that before you went bedhopping and got yourself knocked up by the Devil knows who. I am through with being your punchbag. Take care, because that baby does deserve a life, even if one without a dad. Bye Lis." Dean calmly walked out of the room, shoulders straight and head high.

Once the door had closed behind him, he sagged.  
"Jesus Christ. That bitch. It hurt, Cole, to realise that baby won't know who his daddy is. But I cannot let her have that power over me. Not anymore."  
A hand clapped down on his shoulder, hard.  
"Too right, Dean-o. She doesn't deserve you. Hey... I know of a place. My baby brother is looking for a roommate of sorts. I think you would be perfect!"  
Dean blinked at Gabe.  
"What? Wait... what?"

Gabriel chuckled.  
"Your living arangements. My brother has a place, but the guy who lived with him, Balthazar, he skipped out, and it's getting troublesome to pay for housing and food from his sole paycheck."  
Cole beamed at Dean, mind already buzzing.  
"That might be a good solution for now. You can get things settled in the privacy of your own place."  
Dean pouted in thought.  
"Maybe. But I'm not sure. I mean, I'd be exchanging Bobby for your brother. Still no chance of taking that hot bartender to bed."

Gabe grinned.  
"I can assure you, my brother wouldn't mind if you took the hot bartender to bed."  
A wink and a sassy grin underlined that statement.  
"Besides. He works two jobs at the time, just to make ends meet. He might want to keep both jobs until he got a bit of reserve back. He won't be in much if he does."  
They had walked towards the exit, and the ladies in reception were giving them the stink-eye.  
Gabriel waved cheerfully at them and turned back to Dean and Cole.  
"He's got plenty of room. You'd just have to share the living room and the kitchen. And even then, there is enough space in that living room, that you won't be bothered by eachother. Or anybody that comes over."

It did sound awesome. At Bobby's Dean didn't really have the power to turn people away at the door, and the steady stream of well wishers hadn't lessened since word got out that Dean was living there. Bobby knew them all, and he rarely slammed the door on people. Dean would come in to wash his hands, and there would be Ellen, or Donna, or Jody, or Martin, or Phillip, or Asa... Dean sometimes longed for true alone time.  
"Ok. Set me up, Gabe. It couldn't hurt to have a look at the place."  
Gabriel grinned that sassy smile, that had Dean wonder what he was up to.  
"Sure thing, bucko! I'll text you the deets!" He opened the glass door with a flourish and bowed them out like they were royalty.  
Dean looked at Cole and they both doubled over in laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

It was seven o'clock on Tuesday and Dean was origamied into a Volkswagen Beetle. A frikken hotpink one at that.  
"I forgot to ask... is it far from the salvage? I just got used to not getting stuck in gridlock..."  
Gabriel flashed him a smile.  
"Don't worry, buddy. It's on West Cain."  
Dean gaped. Those were no apartements!  
"Dude! He's got a **house**!? I thought I'd be looking at an apartement."  
Gabe just made a turn and grinned.

He pulled up in a cul-de-sac and stopped in front of a big, white, two story house with black rooftiles.  
"There we are. It's a double garage, so that boat you call a car is safe."  
Dean gulped. This was so much more than an apartement.  
Gabriel squirmed a bit and pulled out his phone.  
"Ah. He texted. I already thought he wasn't home yet. No lights on."  
He showed Dean the text.

From: Babybro. Received at 7.08  
Gabriel.  
I have been detained at work.  
I will try and be home as soon as possible.  
You know where the spare key is.  
Please start the tour without me.  
I would not let you stay outside in this weather.

With a flourish, Gabriel pocketed the phone and pulled Dean to the front porch. He stretched to reach the eves of the roof, but even on tip-toe, he couldn't get what he wanted.  
"Fuck. He always forgets I'm not as freakisly tall as him. Dean... could you?"  
He pointed at a little gap in the support beam.  
Dean grinned and easily dipped his fingers in the gap, finding the cold metal of a key. He pulled it out and smiled. The keychain was a cartoon bumblebee.  
"Here you go, shortbus." Dean teased.  
Gabriel shot him a glare and opened the front door.

"Shoes off, please. Hardwood floor. So much fun to slide around on your socks." Gabe said offhand, as his toed off his own boots.  
Dean followed suit and looked around. Contrary to how he imagined a brother of Gabriel might live, the house was clean, not very messy, but not as meticulously spotless as Lisa kept the house. A cd cover lay open on the sturdy, oak coffee table, along with an unwashed coffee cup and some magazines and books. The sofa was big and looked very comfortable.  
Dean could see how he could be in this room with Gabe's brother and not be bothered. It was like two rooms were drawn together into one. Besides the sofa and coffee table, it fit a large wooden dining table with six chairs with black leather seats and backs, a couple of bookcases and a big wall unit with a tv. And still there was enough room around it all for two guys to walk around next to eachother.

The walls were a warm, honey yellow on one side and a dreamy, spring sky blue on the other. Gabe walked through an archway and called back at Dean.  
"You want some coffee or tea? I think he'll be home before or just around when we finish that."  
Dean was still looking around. This was a stretch different from both the home he had with Lisa, (stark white walls and minimalistic furniture, little in real comfort.) and Bobby. (Old, tacky wallpaper and a hodgepodge of mismatching, yet comfy, furniture, and a right mess at all times.)  
"Coffee please, bud. Not much of a tea guy."  
He actually felt at home already. He was **dying** to try out that sofa. But he also wanted to see the kitchen, so he sauntered in after Gabe and stood rooted to the floor. The kitchen could hold the one Dean and Lisa had had easiliy, and still it was amazingly cozy and homey.

"Christ on a cracker, Gabe! This is the kitchen?"  
Gabriel looked up from the counter where a percolator was making coffee.  
"Yup. And through there is the scullery. No real skulls though."  
He winked and took two mugs out of a cupboard.  
"So, sugar? Cream?"  
Dean shook his head and smirked.  
"Nope. I take my coffee black as my soul."  
That had Gabe raise his eyebrows and chuckle.

"Wow. You will certainly get along with my brother, with choice remarks like that!"  
Dean was unsure whether that was a sarcastic or a serious statement, and he bit his lip.  
The sound of an engine cut through his thoughts and Gabe bounced towards the window.  
"There he is! Told ya he'd be here in time tor coffee!"  
Curious, Dean followed his gaze.  
A tan Continental Mark 5 stopped next to Gabe's hotpink Dinky Toy.

"Well, at least it's a classic, not a sad, modernised copy." Dean commented.  
Gabe threw him a look at the slight at his little, pink Beetle.  
The driver got out and, recognising that dark sexhair, Dean turned on Gabe like a derwish.  
"Castiël? Castiël from accounting is your brother? You... you asshat! You knew!"  
There was no way he could take the offer now. All he knew about Castiël, was that he was the smart, yet silent type, and he somehow knew Dean liked his coffee black. Oh, and that he had a great ass, which Dean would love to pinch. Fuck. He was so screwed. He nearly signed the lease, or whatever, just on the livingroom and the kitchen.

The front door opened and closed. Castiël took off his shoes and tan trenchcoat.  
 _'Hm, fits the car. Wonder which he had first...'_ Dean pondered, watching the back of his probable housemate from the archway.  
Castiël put shoes and coat in the hallway closet, where Dean glimpsed a pair of combat boots.  
 _'Must be from that guy who left...'_ Dean allowed his mind to wander.  
"Heya Cassie! Welcome home!" Gabe nearly yodled, making Dean almost jump out of his skin. Castiël turned around and Dean felt the blood drain from his cheeks.  
"Hot bartender is Castiël? Are you fucking kidding me? How is this my life?" he hissed low, but Gabe heard him and shot him that mischievous smirk.

"Hello Dean, Gabriel. I trust you got my message." Castiël said in that deep, gravelly voice, and Dean's blanched cheeks imediately flushed.  
 _'Oh God! He still sounds like sex personified...'_  
"That we did, Cassie. We just got here, and I made us some coffee. You want some too?"  
Castiël hummed and nodded. His tie was half undone and he shrugged off his suit jacket, revealing a white button up. Dean saw his top two buttons were undone, showing a white undershirt, and his fingers itched to undo some more. Quickly he clasped his hands together on his back. No touching the guy, that would be rude. But, Hell, did Dean want to.

"You two got yours already? Good. You know Dean takes his black?" Castiël asked sincerely.  
Gabriel grinned and scooped five spoons of sugar in his mug.  
"Yeah. He told me... what was that phrase, Dean-o?"  
Dean gritted his teeth and smiled.  
"I take my coffee black as my soul."  
Castiël raised his eyebrows.  
"That is debatable, but I like the saying." he said with a quirk of his mouth.  
Dean gaped. He'd thought Castiël would protest at his unpolished way of saying, but the guy just smirked slightly and poured his own, black, coffee.

"Have you been upstairs yet?"  
Dean swallowed his sip of coffee, and coughed.  
"Not yet. I really only saw the living room and the kitchen. I heard there is a scullery though..."  
Castiël nodded.  
"The skulls are resin..." he said in a offhand way, making Dean chuckle.  
"I gathered there were no real skulls there. Gabe neglected to tell me there were fake ones... I wonder why." Dean quipped sarcastically.  
He caught Castiël's glare at Gabriel and burst out laughing.  
"I know he's a Trickster, Cas. Don't worry."  
That raised two sets of eyebrows.

"Cas?" the brothers entoned in unison.  
Internally, Dean cursed. He'd been calling the guy 'Cas' in his mind ever since he put name and person together.  
"Yeah. Sorry... I can stop that if you want."  
Gabriel tilted his head at Castiël, but Castiël drank his coffee and didn't look up.  
"That's ok, Dean. I don't mind." he said after putting his mug down.  
"Everybody finished their drinks?"  
Gabe and Dean nodded.  
"Good! Shall we continue the tour then?"

Dean sat down on the chocolate brown sofa and ran his hand through his hair. He was **royally** screwed. He knew he found Cas hot, and that could definitely spell trouble, but he also wanted to live here. The bedrooms were big and looked comfy. The first room Cas had opened, was amazing. A big, soft looking bed with a sturdy frame, matching bedside tables and desk, an adjacent bathroom with a tub, big enough for two grown people to sit in. Dean was about to declare this would be an awesome room for him, when Cas said it was his, and Dean was welcome to use the bath, if his own wasn't working or otherwise indisposed. Imediately Dean could see himself walking in from the bathroom, in a towel, to find Cas lying on that big bed, reading or waking up from pleasant dreams, eyes sleepy and cheeks flushed... damn his vivid imagination.

The next bedroom Cas opened was just a bit smaller, but it still held a big bed, bedside tables and desk, along with a chest of drawers and a walk-in closet. Its bathroom held a slightly smaller bath, but Dean was sure he would have room enough.  
"You're more than welcome to this room. Balthazar didn't like it." Cas had said.  
Dean wondered why not. The deep green accents on the dark wooden furniture matched wonderfully with the cream coloured walls. He could see himself there, his stereo on the chest of drawers, his laptop on the desk, his flanel over the back of the deep green rolling chair...  
Gabriel's voice had cut through his thoughts.  
"Why didn't Balthy like this room? It's nearly as nice as yours..."  
Castiël shrugged.  
"He said he didn't like green. So he took the burgundy one."

The burgundy room was smaller but still held a bed and a chest of drawers and a wardrobe. Instead of a bathroom, it had a walk-in shower. Dean was in awe.  
"Cas... how the hell did you get this place? It's amazing!"  
Castiël looked at Gabriel, who sighed and started the explaination.  
"Our Dad disappeared, years ago. One day just, 'poof', amazing disappearing act. Our oma, that's Dutch for granny, raised us. She did an amazing job, and when Dad was legally declared dead, she took the money from the life insurance, sold her own house and continued living with us. All that money, she put in a trustfund for us. One each. When I came of age, I blew it all on girls, guys and booze... and candy. Cassie has the frugal Dutch genes, and saved up. He could buy this place with a relatively low mortgage thanks to that. But it does have the mortgage, and he still has to eat too, so he took in Balthy. Who skipped out a bit ago, leaving Cassie here to fend for himself."

And now Dean was sinking into that amazing sofa, feeling at home and wishing he had the guts to tell Cas he had been eyeing his butt, so they could start their agreement without that standing between them.  
Gabe clapped his hands.  
"So, Dean-o... Whaddaya think?"  
Dean sighed, a smirk forming.  
"You know damn well what I think, you sly fox. What's my rent gonna be?"  
Castiël blushed, making Dean want to see that a lot more.  
"It will have to be $ 350,— a month."  
Dean full on grinned, ignoring the swarm of butterflies in his gut.  
"Is that all? Hell, draw up the papers, buddy! I'm moving in!" he declared, silently wishing his crush would go away.


	8. Chapter 8

Dean packed the last of his clothes in his duffel, and smiled at Sam.  
"You know the address, right?"  
Sam twirled the keys of the rented van around his fingers.  
"Yeah, I got it. And it's just the one drive. I can follow your Baby there."  
Dean smiled and hugged hid brother tightly.  
"I know, but if we get seperated..."  
Sam hugged back.  
"Don't worry. It'll be fine. This is a good thing, Dean. She can't find you as easily now."

Lisa had shown up at the door one evening, just two days after Dean had viewed his new house, pleading for Dean to come back. Bobby had come to the rescue, shotgun over his arm. The barrels had been hinged open, but the message was clear. Lisa was not welcome anymore. Her parting remark had Dean cringing.  
"I'll come back later, when it's more... private."  
Sam was right. Even if she came knocking tonight, he'd be long gone!  
Feeling elated, Dean slung his duffel over his back and went downstairs.  
"Bye Bobby. Thanks for everything, man."  
Bobby hugged him tightly and patted his arm.  
"That's ok, son. Anytime. See ya Monday. Bright an' early!"  
Dean chuckled.  
"See ya Monday, boss!" he quipped and gave the two fingered salute.

When he drove up to the house, Gabriel was standing on the drive.  
"Heya Dean-o! I'm here to help!" he called out as Dean put Baby in front of the garage Cas had said he could use.  
"That's great buddy! See that van? That's my baby brother. He took the day off. The three of us should be able to get me settled before Cas is home."  
Gabriel smiled at him.  
"Awe, a wittle Winchester. I'll hold his... Holy mother! **That's** your little brother?" Gabe gasped as Sam got out of the van.  
"Yup. Sam, Gabriel. Gabriel, Sam, my brother."  
Gabriel looked up at Sam's face as he shook his hand.  
"Shit you're freakishly tall, and handsome... is that a Winchester thing?"  
Sam chuckled and tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear.

"Hey, Sammoose! Catch!" Gabe called out as he flung a bottle of beer towards Sam.  
Sam caught it and saluted Gabe with it, before sinking onto the sofa next to Dean.  
"Jesus, Dean... kushy sofa! Even I can slouch on it!"  
Dean chuckled and sipped his own beer, which Gabe had brought.  
"That's because, like you and your bro, Cassie is annoyingly tall." Gabriel grumbled, tipping his beer.  
"That's not true, Gabe. You're just a shortstop. Cas is about six feet" Dean clarified for Sam.  
Sam leaned back on the sofa and relaxed.  
"I'll see him soon enough. It's about six thirty, shouldn't he get home in a bit?"  
Gabe checked his watch and nodded.  
"Yeah. Around six fifty, seven o'clock, depending on traffic and such."  
Dean nodded and pushed himself up.  
"Let's get dinner going then."

When Cas came home, dinner was done. Dean had made burgers and Sam tossed together a salad, because no matter how hard Dean claimed burgers were a balanced meal stacked together, Sam wanted a salad to counter the saturated fats. Gabriel had made a caramel covered flan for dessert, and they had just finished setting the table, when the front door closed.  
"Hey baby bro! Right on time! Come on in. Dinner is served!"  
Castiël slowly walked into the livingroom, eyes wide and a blush on his cheeks.  
"You shouldn't have! I was more than ready to order in."  
Dean grinned at him.  
"Nonsense, Cas! We were here, the food was in the fridge... why spend money when we had time and resources? Now come, eat!"

Cas sat down at the table and took it all in. After a bit he smiled up at them.  
"In all this time, I never used the table unless it was a holiday, or I had company."  
He glanced up at Sam.  
"Hello. We haven't met before, have we?"  
Sam smiled and took his hand.  
"No. I'm Sam, Dean's brother. Pleased to meet you."  
Gabe eyed them impatiently.  
"Yeah, yeah... pleasantries aside, guys... dinner!"  
That had them all laughing, and they sat down.

To Dean's great delight, Cas bit into his burger with gusto.  
"My word! These are great."  
Cas chewed, sauce in the corners of his mouth.  
"Hm. These make me very happy!"  
After polishing off two burgers, Cas scooped a nice portion of Sam's salad on his plate.  
"This is so good! And you two made this all from scratch?"  
The Winchesters grinned at eachother and nodded.  
"Not much to it really, if you have the stuff you need." Sam replied, spearing his own salad on his fork.

After all the food was gone, Cas sat back, and smacked his lips.  
"Thank you, Dean, Sam, and even you, Gabriel. I never knew you can cook..."  
Gabriel rubbed his neck and smiled.  
"Only sweet stuff. Desserts, pastries... Hell, I'm good at those. Anything else I nuke."  
Dean groaned and stretched.  
"Well, then I'm pleased Sam and I did the main course. Bobby taught us to cook, because, and I quote: 'any idjet knows that fresh cooked is healthier, but it's also more satisfying. Both in belly and in mind.' And I agree with that old coot. I like seeing someone enjoy food I made, and I like cooking. Plus... Bobby's a paranoid bastard. He likes to know exactly what's in the food on his plate."

Castiël hummed, and Gabe chuckled.  
"Yeah... I think your boss and our oma would get along just fine..."  
Castiël smirked as he examined his fingernails.  
"Like a house on fire... all screams and heat."  
Gabriel pondered that, then started laughing.  
"Too right, baby bro... too right."  
Dean looked up through his lashes at them.  
"Is she still... you know... with us? Or will we never know if that's true?"  
Castiël smiled at him, most of the smile in the way his eyes crinkled up.  
"Oma is still around. She lives nearby, so chances are they either know eachother, or know of eachother."  
Gabriel deadpanned.  
"Oh dear..." he whispered, making the others laugh out loud.

Sam and Gabriel left after ten, after they had done the dishes, all four of them. Dean and Castiël decided to have one last drink and then call it a night.  
"So, Dean. I trust you found everything you needed, and you could place all your belongings alright?"  
Dean nodded. Cas might be a bit of an oddball, but he was nice enough.  
"Yeah. Wasn't that much to begin with. I left most big shit behind. I wouldn't need furniture for a bit, since I fled to Bobby's. And now I still don't need it, because your stuff is just great and I'm super happy I am allowed to use it."  
Castiël ducked his head and a pleased blush appeared on his cheeks.  
"Good. I'm glad we have similar tastes. I have to work an early shift at the bar tomorrow, so I will be gone from noon until ten. Please, don't feel obligated to cook every time."  
Dean smiled and tilted back his beer.  
"Don't worry. I think I'll scout the neighbourhood and see how long it takes me to get from A to B from here. And I will cook if I feel like it. You don't have to eat it..."

Castiël chuckled and got to his feet.  
"Alright. Well, I am going to bed. Good night, Dean."  
"Good night, Cas."  
Dean cleared away the empty bottles and the bowl of beernut crumbs.  
He stood in the archway and looked around, taking in living room and kitchen.  
He could totally get used to living here.  
He sighed happily and climbed the stairs to go to bed.  
The bed was comfortable and warm, and Dean was out like light in minutes.


	9. Chapter 9

Gabriel hadn't been lying when he said Cas wouldn't be in much. Weekdays, he would work at Nomed Inc. Then he'd have a bar shift on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon or evening and Sunday afternoon. Basically, Cas worked 7 days a week. Dean could see, after just a few weeks, that Cas was getting worn down. Dark bruises were forming under his eyes, and even though he wasn't outright cranky, he did become less cheerful and more curt.

Dean cooked often, making sure the leftovers were reheatable. Cas smiled every time, but his appetite was starting to fade too. Frankly, Dean was getting worried. Even for as little time as they spent together, Dean and Cas had started to become friends. So, one Saturday, when Cas had an early shift at the bar, Dean texted Gabriel.

Sent at 11.55 am to Gabe:  
Gabe. I gotta talk with you buddy.  
I'm getting a bit worried here.  
I'm home, so come get a beer or something.  
Dean.

Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang.  
"Hiya Dean-o! What's cookin'?" Gabe called out, popping a sucker out of his mouth.  
Dean ushered him in and grabbed the promised beer.  
"Look... I know I only just met your brother properly, but..."  
Dean's voice tapered out, because Gabe was looking at him with a rapt, almost expectant expression.  
"Go on..." Gabe urged.  
Clearing his throat, Dean continued.  
"But I'm worried about Cas. He's running himself to the ground, man."  
Gabe dropped his shoulders and plopped that sucker back in his mouth.  
"Crap. So not what I'd hoped..." he told his knees, almost whispering.

Then he perked up and grinned at Dean.  
"Then we get him a few weeks off at one job. Preferably the Nomed one. He has been building up his payed vaykay days for some time... I think I can pull this off. You got a laptop I can use?"  
Blinking, Dean looked at the bouncy 5'7" guy.  
"Wait, what?"  
Gabe cackled and rocked back with it.  
"Bucko... I work maintenance, because I like doing it. Not because I can't do anything else. Gimme that magic box, and I'll show you!"

Dean handed Gabe his laptop with a certain feeling of trepidition.  
Gabe opened it and his fingers started flying over the keys.  
"Holy cottoncandy sticks! That nerd has over a month in payed vacation time due! Ok. That is too much."  
He set the laptop aside, grabbed his phone and punched a number.  
"Hello? Crowley? Gold here... Yeah. Look, pal, I just saw that a C. Novak has a bit of payed vacation due... Uhuh. Like, over a month... hmhmmm. That's what I thought. I'll handle it. Yeah. Ok. Yeah.. toodles."  
Dean tilted his head, eyes narrowed.  
"Gold? You're fucking kidding me. **You're** the mysterious, silent partner?" Lisa had told Dean years ago about that excentric guy who sometimes got very involved, but never showed his face.

Gabe cursed under his breath.  
"Fuck. Trust you to know... Yeah. I am. I didn't blow all my money on debauchery. Just the scraps I didn't invest. I own 53% of Nomed, and Crowley is my personal lapdog. I have total access to the whole company, up to, and including, the company cars. That's why I could set off that hussy's alarm, and that's why I could hairtrigger the lockdown on the computer safetynet for the holidays."  
He grinned mischievously.  
"When Brady 'coincidentally' decided to get in some overtime, which means he had a holiday deadline and blew it because he was banging your lady, it shut down the whole shebang!"

He cackled, rubbing his hands. Dean just shook his head.  
"But Brady called in Charlie Bradbury, who fixed it." he said. "Bit of a spanner in the works, bud."  
Gabriel cackled harder and slapped his knees.  
" **I** called miss Bradbury in, muttonhead! Hell, I don't want my company to go belly up because Brady is an ass... I knew she can fix just about anything. I also knew it would take her until around four, when Brady was expected at his parents home."  
By now Dean was grinning too.  
"You devious little imp!" he chuckled.  
Gabe winked, popped his sucker back in and gave him the two fingered salute.

Rubbing his hands again, Gabe sat up and grabbed the laptop again.  
"Let's send Cassie a neat little mail, requesting that he stays home Monday, until... mmmm... three weeks later? Gotta keep a little time in reserve for emergencies."  
His fingers danced over the keys.  
"There... and a sweet explaination that it is **paid** time off. There. Sincerely, human recources."  
Dean sat back, nipping his beer. He was in awe at how fast and devious his friend's brain was working.  
"Dude... you're awesome..." he grinned. "This has earned you a chocolate ganache cake. I'll go buy it for dessert. If you have time that is..."  
Gabe's eyes lit up even more.  
"Dinner? You're cooking? And cake for dessert... chocolate cake? Count me in, bucko! The bar will have to wait!"

When Castiël came home that night, his face was alight with wonder as he hung up his trenchcoat.  
"Dean... you will never believe what happened today..."  
His voice bled out as he caught sight of the steak dinner Dean was putting on the table and his brother, who looked like he'd fallen face first in something.  
"What's going on?" he asked suspiciously.  
"Moffin' broffer." Gabe mumbled, cheeks bulging like a chipmunk's and spraying darkbrown crumbs.  
Dean sighed and wiped the crumbs away with a cloth.

"Nothing, Cas. I just felt like steak, and Gabe helped me with something that was weighing on me. So he deserved chocolate cake."  
Cas smiled warmly at them.  
"That's just amazing... this makes the day even better!"  
Flashing Gabe a grin, Dean offered Cas a cold beer.  
"Whaddaya mean, bud? What happened?"

Cutting neat bites of his steak, Cas told them how he had found a mail in his inbox, basically ordering him to take three weeks of payed vacation.  
"That's great, Cas!" Dean smiled.  
"You could use it, baby bro!" Gabriel enthused. "You've been working that tight little ass off for months now. Live a little. Chase a dream or two... get laid..."  
Dean nearly choked on his beer. That was not something he had thought about, and quite frankly... he didn't **want** to.

Apparently, neither did Cas. He blushed furiously and slammed his cutlery down.  
"Gabriel! Not all of us live for sex and sweets. When will you learn?"  
Gabriel let his mischievous, golden eyes dart between both taller men and seductively placed the last, big bite of chocolate cake in his mouth. After he swallowed, he grinned.  
"Really, bro? You're in denial, bucko. But I'll butt out."  
He raised his hands in submission. Then he licked his plate clean, wiped his mouth, licked his fingers and stood.  
"Well, this was an enlightening day, but I'm calling it. Dean, take care. Cassie, enjoy your free time!"  
He winked, turned, started whistling Asia's 'Heat of the Moment' and skipped to the door.

Cas stared at the door, long after it had fallen shut.  
"Dean... have you ever considered the posibility that you're adopted? I must be... or he was."  
Dean chuckled, patting his shoulder and ignoring the tingles he felt.  
"Only every time I see Sam. That Moose can't be my brother... just kidding!" he hastily amended when Cas looked horrified.  
"I've taken care of Sammy since he was six months old. But even as close as we are, sometimes it's like he's a stranger. That's supposed to happen, I think. To keep us on our toes..."  
Cas thought about that, blue eyes pensieve.  
"Maybe you're right. And I do love Gabriel. So, blood or not..."  
Dean smiled and tilted back his beer.  
"Family don't end with blood." he quoted his surrogate father.  
Cas nodded and smiled.  
"You are very right."


	10. Chapter 10

Dean loved coming home. It meant relaxing and doing his own stuff, after pulling a vacuum through the house and other chores like that. He liked keeping his place clean, but never got a chance with Lisa. She was bordering manic on the cleaning front and didn't trust Dean to do it properly.  
"You men are all alike. If the pizza in the box doesn't say 'Hello' in seven different languages, it's still good enough." she used to snipe.  
Every time Dean imagined said pizza, he'd turn green, but Lisa was convinced all men were slobs, and nothing he did would change that view.

Now, however, he got to care for his own place, in a way. Cas liked the place clean, but lived in, just like Dean himself. And since out of the two of them, Dean spent the most time in the house, he did a lot of the cleaning. And he cooked. But besides that he could play solitaire on his phone, or read some Vonnegut, whilst lounging on the sofa with a cold beer. Cas often came in while Dean was cooking, but every now and then he'd walk in on Dean watching Dr. Sexy, or playing textmessage Battleship with Charlie. Still, Dean never got anything but a soft smile. And Dean loved it.

Cas had exchanged their phonenumbers, so they had a way to reach eachother. He would text Dean if he was late, but that was all it ever got used for. Until that Monday after Gabe's outing as mr. Gold. Everything at the salvage went pearshaped shortly after the morning coffeebreak. First, Gordon had slammed a door, but failed to keep his left hand safely out of the way. Dean had done a swift triage, and thought that 3 fingers were broken, at least. Bobby drove Gordon to the Emergency, calling out the window for the rest of them to "handle stuff fer a while, ya idjets. I'll be back soon... ish."  
That was just the start. Garth, bless his smart brain, but curse his wonky social skills, had inadvertedly angered a cliënt, and Dean had to come rescue him, and the order, leaving the car he was working on unattended for over half an hour. And it was supposed to be done Tuesday, bright and early.

Then Luke, (also known as Lucifer, because damn was he a manipulative ass at times, and selfish too) twisted his ankle on the greasepit and had to be driven to the ER by Dean, because Bobby still wasn't back. He saw the rickety truck zoom past him just inside the city limits. He had called Bobby to tell him everything, and after a hearty "BALLS!" Bobby had assured him he was almost done and Dean should get that no-good Devil some proper medical aid. Which took another hour, because ER was swamped!  
So Dean broke his own rule of not using that number ever. (Nuhuh, he wasn't a creepy stalker for his housemate slash landlord, thank you very much.) and texted Cas.

Sent at 5.25 pm to Castiël:  
Cas, I'm sorry.  
I know we would eat what you called 'proper Dutch lazy food', but things have gone ape around here, and I still have to install that crankshaft properly.  
I'm going to be pretty late tonight.  
Again sorry.  
Dean.

Dean sighed as he pocketed his phone. He could just see Cas preparing something weirdly foreign and elaborate. His mind's eye placed Cas in the kitchen, his shirt sleeves rolled up, tie askew, hair rumpled from running his hand through it... with a definitive shake of his head, Dean focussed on the engine in front of him.

Until his pocket buzzed. Casting a sly glance at Bobby, Dean opened the message.

Received at 5.27 pm Castiël:  
Hello, Dean.  
I am sorry to hear that.  
Are you alright? You are not injured, are you?  
As for dinner, just sent me a text when you are leaving work. I can make it anytime.  
There is a reason I call it lazy dinner. No rush whatsoever.  
See you soon.  
Castiël.

Reassured a bit, Dean really started work on the engine and shot a text back, less than an hour later.

Sent at 6.22 pm to Castiël:  
Thanks for the concern, Cas, but I'm ok.  
Gordon and Luke not so much.  
Gordon shattered two fingers and broke a third, by slamming a car door on them.  
And Lucifer sprained his ankle BAD by not watching his step.  
I'm just washing up, and then I'm heading home.  
See you then.  
Dean.

He cleaned up, scrubbed his hands vigourously, and got into his Baby. At this time, traffic was light, and Dean was home in ten minutes. He parked Baby in her designated garage and went inside, expecting some soft jazz, or something mushy like that, to be playing softly. Imagine his surprise when his eardrums were almost blown by what he recognised as Pantera's 'Medicine man'. Totally out of sorts, Dean put away his shoes and jacket and braved the music to wander to the kitchen. He stopped dead in the archway.

Cas was indeed in the kitchen, but that was all that compared to Dean's mental picture earlier that night. Cas wore faded, black sweatpants (which still showed off that amazing ass, damn it!), a similarly worn, black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off (the showed tattoos were of something feathered and Dean was intrigued and slightly turned on.) and nothing on his feet. Barefoot, he was pouring some kind of batter in a skillet, then twirled the skillet around to spread the batter around it. All the while, Cas was belting along with Phil Anselmo, his gravelly voice eerily suited for the deep vocals. Impressed, Dean leaned against the archway, waiting for the next part of the song, where he was sure Cas would be quiet, since there was a bit that was vocalised so much higher. Cas still hadn't noticed Dean, and tapped his foot along while singing.

"Have you ever wondered what Hell's like?  
He can take you there.  
Just one taste and you'll be back.."

Dean held his breath, waiting for Cas to fall silent, but he went on, voice slipping to falsetto effortlessly.

"And by the high you'll sweeeeaaaarrr!" he screeched in tone, only to drop back to his deeper voice for the first part of the chorus. Then back to falsetto for the second and even echoing the high, drawn out scream. Never missed a beat. Damn! Now Dean was definitely impressed and turned on. To prevent this getting embarrassing, Dean coughed. Cas whipped his head around, smiling widely. He waved a remote and the music stopped abruptly.  
"Hello, Dean." he said, once the ringing silence became bearable.  
Dean opened and closed his mouth but nothing came out, because Cas was wearing an AC/DC Speedshop shirt and it fit him fine. Besides that, a glint had caught Dean's eye as Cas had turned and now he saw what it was. Cas had his right ear pierced! Twice! Two silver rings blinked at him and Dean nearly moaned.

"Dean? Are you sure you are alright?" Cas asked, worry colouring his voice.  
Dean snapped out of it, and coughed again.  
"Yeah... yeah, 'm fine... so... Pantera? Seriously?"  
Cas grinned and turned back to the stove. Flipping whatever was in the skillet, he nodded.  
"Yes. It's my secret identity. I'm secretly a metalhead."  
Dean licked his lips and fought down his libido.  
"Not so secretly... those tats show at the bar. Even if only just a tiny hint."  
Cas emptied the skillet on a waiting plate and threw a pad of butter in it to melt.  
Swirling the butter around the skillet he hummed 'medicine man' under his breath.

"I know, but in the bar, no-one will mind them. At Nomed, people are a bit less accepting."  
He tapped his ear after pouring and swirling another ladle of batter in the skillet.  
"Same goes for my earrings. I get to wear them so little, I forget to put them in when I'm working at the bar. I saw them after my shower this morning and I just had to put them in, even before I got anything on."  
Dean was glad Cas had his back turned, because he was flushed at the idea of Cas dropping everything to put in those sexy rings. Still battling his libido (because he didn't want to mess up this friendship, not now it seemed they got so much more in common than he thought), Dean sat down.  
"I see dinner is coming along... Are those crêpes?"  
Cas expertly flipped the next one.

"No. Too thick. These are Dutch pancakes. Bigger and thinner, and after a few plain ones, I get creative."  
Dean swallowed. This side of Cas was loose, quick to smile and sexy as Hell. Him getting creative got Dean's mind going places it usually only visited during nighttime.  
"Cr..creative... how?"  
Cas chuckled low and dumped the new pancake on the stack of others.  
"I add bacon or apple slices or this..."  
He held up a block of cheese.

"Oma gets lots of this from her relatives back in the Netherlands. It's Goudse kaas. Wait until you taste it... Oh! Could you text Gabriel? One line should do it. Just tell him 'pannenkoeken'."  
Dean snorted at the strange word.  
"Man, I don't even know how to write that!"  
Cas sighed in a put upon way, scribbled something on a notepad and turned back to his skillet.  
Dean read it, tried to make sense of it, then shrugged. He would know soon enough.  
He sent the text to Gabe, as per request, and watched as Cas used some cross between a spatula and a razor to slice the cheese. Slices fell from the strange implement, not too thin, not too thick and wonderfully even. Cas handled the thing smoothly, as if it was nothing weird.

"What is that thing?" Dean asked, amazed at how it transformed solid cheese into a neat slices.  
Cas chuckled and twirled the thing around.  
"Een kaasschaaf, in English a cheese slicer. Almost every Dutch household has one. The British mockingly call it a 'Dutch economy knife'. Because of the legendary Dutch frugality, I think. Oma taught us how to use one when we were kids, then gave us both one when we got our own place."  
Dean nodded and jumped when his phone buzzed.  
It was a reply from Gabe.

Received at 6.43 pm Gabe:  
Dude!  
Did you really just send me 'pannenkoeken'?  
Oh my sweet CHUPA CHUPS! Don't eat yet! I'm on my way!

Dean chuckled, making Cas drop his first bacon pancake on the plate and abandon his stove for a bit. Dean showed Gabe's reply and Cas smirked.  
"Good. Could you set the table? Put the syrups on, and the powdered sugar and that bottle with the yellow cap." he directed.  
Dean swiftly put placemats, plates and silverware on the table, then forraged around to find everything Cas asked for. He held up a plastic bottle filled with a glutinous, dark brown stuff (which looked a Hell of a lot like molasses), labeled 'schenkstroop'.  
"This what you want, Cas?"  
Cas glanced over from plating his third apple pancake.  
"That's it! Thank you, Dean!"  
A happy blush rushed up Dean's cheeks and he ducked his head.

Gabe burst through the scullery door, redfaced and panting.  
Seeing the set table and Dean holding up that mystery bottle, he punched the air.  
"Yes! Cassie, you're the best little brother! Did you make me apple?"  
Cas grinned and confirmed that he did.  
Gabe shucked off his jacket and toed off his boots.  
"Dean-o, get ready to eat until you burst! Pannenkoeken are the best dinner man invented!"  
Now Dean heard the word, it did sound a bit like pancakes, though longer and somehow more enthousiastic. But that could also be because Gabe was practically slobbering at the thought of this food.

"Dean, sit. The last few will be served directly." Cas ordered.  
Gabe bounced up and down like a five year old.  
"Castiël, you are the angel mom named you after! Kaaspannenkoeken!"  
Dean blinked at the last word.  
"Wait, what? Are those different from the others?" he inquired, a bit worried.  
Gabe clapped his hands.  
"They are amazing! Hot pancake with Goudse kaas, oh sorry, Gouda cheese."  
Finally knowing what that was, Dean started to drool.  
He loved Gouda! But it was so expensive...

He watched as the brothers rolled up their pancakes and cut it in slices. Taking his lead from them, he did the same. After the first bite, he moaned.  
"Oh my God. I love your oma! These are amazing!"  
Cas blushed, but a pleased smile tugged at his pink lips.  
"I will convey your feelings. She asked me to come over for coffee Wednesday."  
Gabe stopped eating, one cheek bulging. Quickly he swallowed, adamsapple bobbing furiously.  
"For realsies? AWESOME! Ohooo Dean-o! If you think these babies are good, you just wait until you eat her applepie!"

Dean had to empty his mouth, because he had mashed in two slices in one go.  
"Is it that much different from anything we buy?"  
Both Novaks snorted in laughter.  
"You bet your butt it is!" Gabe chuckled.  
Dean tilted his head in acceptance and took another pancake, this one apple.  
It tasted just as devine, only sweeter.

An hour later, all three men were slouched on the sofa.  
"Ohhhhhh maaaannn." Dean groaned. "I ate too much. And that's not something I often say."  
He opened his right eye and glanced at Gabe, whose mouth was ringed with brown, sticky smears.  
"I gotta say, bud, that was one way I never saw molasses used."  
Gabe grinned and winked.  
"Cassie, can I crash? I'm too full to get up, let alone drive..." he asked in a whiny voice, pulling his golden eyes in puppy dog mode.  
Cas opened one cerulean eye, then let it slide shut again.  
"Burgundy room this time, Gabriel. Remember that."  
Satisfied, Gabe grinned widely.  
"Will do, brother mine. Will do."


	11. Chapter 11

Dean growled at the alarm. It was way too soon after he'd gone up. He'd hit the bed, clothed in just his boxers because a shirt was too much trouble, and fell into a foodcoma. He whacked the beeping monstrosity to shut it up. His eyes were gritty and unwilling to open, but he had that customer coming bright and early. Dean groaned and sat up. A knock came to his door.  
"Dean-o? You up?"  
Gabe... right! He had stayed over.  
"Naah. M' eyes are open though..."

The door opened and the tousled locks of his friend appeared around it. He looked as bad as Dean felt.  
"Morn' Gabe. Not as bright eyed today?"  
Gabe scowled and padded further in.  
"Uhhhn. Shut up. No sugar rush yet. Can I use your bathroom? Cassie isn't up yet, and I need a soak. I feel sticky and grimey."  
Dean grinned. Served him right. No-one should be able to completely cover their 'pannenkoek' (Yes he knew the difference between singular and plural by now) in molasses, roll it up and then use said roll to sop all the spilt molasses off the plate, and **not** feel sticky afterwards.  
"Sure. I'll just take a shower in yours. I don't wake from a bath, I just get more sleepy and grumpy."  
Gabe gave a wan smile and padded off to the bathroom, clothes, towel and toiletries in the crook of his arm.

Dean stretched, yawned, then cursed as he saw the time.  
He dashed to the burgundy room and turned on the shower. Only when he was rinsing off the suds, did he realise he had brought nothing but his toiletry bag, and his towel.  
"Son of a bitch... if this is the tone for today, I'm heading back to bed." he grumbled, toweling himself off. He slung the towel around his hips and grabbed the rest of his stuff.  
"Gotta tell Cas to keep the 'pannenkoeken' for when I got a day off. This is no way to start the day." Dean groused, watching his towel didn't slip.

The soft closing of a door didn't surprise him. Maybe Gabe was done already.  
Then he heard a soft gasp, from a direction that wasn't near his room. It was right in front of him. His head shot up. Cas was staring at him, blue eyes wide, pink lips slightly agape and a blush on his cheeks.  
"D.. Dean. Good morning." Cas stuttered out.  
Fighting down his own blush, Dean smiled.  
"Morning, Cas. Gabe wanted to bathe, so I used his shower. Only I forgot my clothes.

Cas made an odd movement with his head, like he got a water logged ear.  
"I can see that... I didn't know you had a tattoo too."  
Dean glanced down at his chest, smiling at the familiar pentagram surrounded by flames on his left pectoral.  
"Yeah, me and Sammy both have this one. We did it after a drunk night, watching 'the Exorsist'. Sam got obsessed with avoiding demons to squat in our bodies like that. So, drunk as a skunk, mr. Hotshot Lawyer fresh from Stanford, researched anti-posession. He came up with this symbol, and we drove downtown. Next morning, Bobby shook his head at us and called us idjets with great predjudice. But I never regretted it. It's like a symbol of our bond."

Cas was smiling by now, though his cheeks were still a bit pink. He rubbed his hands over his own ink.  
"I can understand that. Mine are a symbol too."  
Dean's eyes had followed those long fingers slide over the inked feathers that peeked out from under the sleeves of Cas' shirt.  
"Yeah? Of what?" Damn his mouth! It always ran off when he didn't pay attention to it.

Cas turned around and whipped his shirt off, causing Dean to gape and blush furiously.  
His back was lean, but muscular. His skin was pale, except for where two massive black wings were tattooed. They started at the tip of his shoulderblades, then up to the dip in his shoulders and spread down and out to the back of his arms. There the last primary tip ended just above his elbows.  
Dean switched his toiletry bag to the hand clutching his towel, so it would cover the problem rising underneath.  
"Of freedom, Dean. I will tell you the whole story another time. I think you should get going, or you will be late. I was about to wake Gabriel up, but now I don't need to."  
Cas poked his head and arms through the shirt.

He turned around and Dean glimpsed a birthmark next to his right nipple, before Cas tugged his shirt back on.  
"Y..Yeah. I'll make sure Gabe comes down." Dean mumbled.  
Cas smiled widely at him.  
"Good. I shall make breakfast."  
Dean hummed his ok, desperately trying to tell his libido 'No. Nope. Nuhuh!' and made his way to his room, to get Gabriel out of the tub.

Breakfast was simple, yet tasty. Cas had made sandwiches. Just two slices of whole wheat bread, butter and more of that tasty Gouda.  
"Dude! You put that on your sandwiches? It costs a lot to just put between two slices of, admittedly delicious, bread." Dean protested, after polishing his two sandwiches off.  
Cas poured him a coffee, and himself and Gabriel a mug of milk.

"I told you, Dean. Oma gets a lot of that stuff. Her sister, her brother and most of her more distant relatives send her a care package every few months. She is always well stocked in cheese, drop, stroopwafels, schenkstroop, and what not. I bet I will get another block tomorrow. Don't worry, and enjoy."  
Gabriel hummed around his sandwich, which was covered with some kind of white powder. It looked like powdered sugar, but it smelled heavily of anisseed.  
"I wov oma's welatiffs." he mumbled, emitting little puffs of the powder.

Cas shook his head at his brother.  
"I swear Gabriel, they have lied to us all these years. You are actually the younger one, not me." he dryly commented, whilst wiping his shirt clean of the white powder that had settled there.  
Dean bit his lip and quickly drank his coffee.

To his amazement, he wasn't even that much later than usual. He wiped his mouth and grabbed his stuff.  
"Thanks for breakfast, Cas. It was fun, eating together and not wolf down a granola bar."  
Cas dipped his head.  
"You're welcome, Dean. If you like, we can do this every day. I know I would love it. We used to have breakfast like this every day. I miss it. It's a fun yet relaxed way to start the day."  
Dean agreed with that wholeheartedly. He smiled at the Novaks, and left.


	12. Chapter 12

Dean shook his head free of the snow that got caught in his hair on the short stretch from the garage to the front door. His day had been amazing.  
The cliënt had been so happy with his fixed car, and the fact that it was done at the promised time, that he'd bought Dean a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue.  
Next, Bobby had told them all to get their asses home, since the impending snow would halt business in its tracks until the wrecks came in tomorrow.  
And to top it off, Dean hadn't had his four o'clock dip. His energy had stayed pretty stable, and he was still perky, even though it was almost five.

He shook out his coat before hanging it in the closet. When he put his boots away, he noticed the combatboots were gone. _'Huh. That Balthazar guy must've picked them up.'_  
He sauntered into the living room.  
"Hey, Cas! You home, bud?"  
No answer. Damn. With the incoming blizzard, Dean got a bit nervous. He took the stairs two at a time and knocked on Cas' bedroom door.  
"Cas? You decent?"  
No answer.

Gulping and telling his imagination that Cas was **not** in there, sleeping on top of the covers, in just his boxers, Dean pushed the door open.  
The room was empty.  
Heart thumping a quick staccato in his chest, he went to the bathroom door, which stood slightly ajar.  
"Cas? A...are you in there?"  
His cheeks burned and he listened hard for any splashing noises, but deathly silence reigned.  
"Damnit, Cas..." he grumbled and peeked inside. Again no-one there.

Dean ran back downstairs, through the kitchen and stopped in front of the scullery door. He'd never been in there. He always took the front door to enter or exit. Gabe burst through here twice a week at least, but apart from the skull joke, Dean had ignored the scullery. Now, he swallowed hard and pushed the door open.  
"AH!" Dean coiled back, heart making a bid to leave his body through his esophagus.  
"Goddamnit... I should've known... Cas you adorable weirdo!"  
He tapped the nearest skull with a nail, only to find it resin, just like Cas had said.  
Dean huffed a laugh and did a Hamlet.  
"Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him Horatio..."

"...a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy."  
Dean nearly dropped the skull, when Cas' deep, gravelly voice completed the phrase.  
"Don't **do** that... Geez, you're gonna give me a heart attack one day." he gasped, turning around.  
Cas chuckled, brushing snow off his black trenchcoat with silver clasps across his chest.  
Dean tried not to gape. Cas looked so hot in that coat. It was tailored to show off his lanky build, but tight enough to show muscles rolling under the fabric.  
Dean looked down, to avoid getting caught staring, but the tight, black jeans accentuated Cas' runners legs and Dean's mouth got dry.

"So, you finally decided to check out my skulls?" Cas smiled.  
Dean swallowed hard before answering in a slightly croaking voice.  
"No. You weren't in the house, so I thought I should see if you were here, or maybe got caught in that."  
He pointed at the window next to the back door. By now snow was falling so fast and thick, it was starting to white out.  
Cas tilted his head at it and Dean reached out.  
His hand hovered inches from Cas' hair.  
"Hm. I was out there. I wanted to check the temperature on the hives." Cas mumbled, unaware of his housemate's hand.  
When Dean brushed his hand through those ebony locks, even darker now they were wet, they sprang back with a slight curl to them.

Cas snapped his head around.  
"What are you doing?" It didn't sound angry, or embarrased, just curious.  
"I...I ehm... You have snow in your hair..." Dean supplied, internally cursing himself for doing it. Now he would never forget how soft those locks felt.  
Cas ruffled his hand through it, black leather glove blending in perfectly with his hair.  
"Huh. So I do. Thank you, Dean." He smiled, tilting his head again.  
"I didn't know you knew Shakespeare." he said softly.  
Dean huffed. "Just a bit."

Cas shook his dark head, taking his gloves off.  
"More than just a bit, Dean. Most people go for the "to do, or not to do" phrase when encountering a skull. You picked the apropriate one."  
Dean's cheeks burned like fire.  
"Ah nuts... I just happened to have played Hamlet in highschool."  
Cas grinned now, nose scrunged up and eyes crinkled.  
"A fellow theatre kid... I'm in luck!"

He shucked off his coat to reveal a tight, faded Pantera T-shirt.  
Dean smiled at the skull on the front.  
"A Reinventing the Steel shirt... and it looks old enough to be from the release tour."  
Cas stroked the shirt, instantly running Dean's mouth bonedry again.  
"It is, European tour, Den Bosch. Oma gave me a ticket.  
We were visiting relatives in April 2000, when she surprised me with it. It was only a two hour drive from where we were, and my second cousin, Addy, and his girlfriend were going too. So I got a ride with them, 50 guilders pocket money to spend, and a kiss. I had such a great time!  
Gabriel got to spend that amount at the local herbal drugstore. They had authentic Dutch sweets. He came home with three totes full. Oma knows us so well."

Cas was still stroking his shirt, remeniscing, and Dean wanted to feel how soft the fabric had gotten over the many washes it must have had. So close... Cas was standing so close. Dean could smell the melting snow in his hair, and an underlying scent. Fresh, oceany, arousing as fuck. He cleared his throat.  
"Any other bands?" he tried to distract his thoughts.  
Cas licked his lower lip in thought, causing Dean to clench his hands.  
"Hm. Just some new metal band called Powerman 5000. Trashy music, not much for me. And Satyricon. They were good. But Pantera was the best.. plain and simple."  
He started untying his boots.

Dean looked down again, unable to stop his eyes from sliding down the black jeans.  
"Are those... the boots from the closet?"  
Cas looked at his feet too, frowning in confusion.  
"Of course. Why wouldn't they be?"  
Dean shrugged, still trying to keep his thoughts PG.  
"I.. I just assumed they were left by that other guy..."

Cas burst out laughing, toeing off his boots and picking them up.  
"Balthazar?! Oh my word, no! He wouldn't touch these with a ten foot pole! Loafers for him, or respectable shoes or boots. He'd take cyanide before donning combatboots!"  
Feeling a bit silly, Dean gestured to the kitchen.  
"Wanna get inside? Bound to be warmer. Oh! I got a present today too!"  
Another curious tilt of the head, and Cas brushed past him to get in the house.  
That fresh scent lingered a bit, and Dean sighed loningly, picking up the black coat.

Cas neatly put away his shoes, then looked around frowning slightly.  
"Looking for this?" Dean asked, holding up the black coat. It was pretty heavy.  
"Yes. Thank you, Dean."  
He hung it in the closet, next to his tan trenchcoat.  
"You got a present? From whom? What is it?"  
Dean picked the bottle up from where he'd put it when he went on his frantic search for Cas.  
"This. That guy from the crankshaft was pretty pleased with my work. Wanna warm up a bit?"  
Cas smiled and fetched a couple of tumblers.

They were three quarters through the bottle, and serious talk had slowly drifted into sillyness.  
Dean liked to watch Cas talk. His slender hands used a language of their own.  
After Cas' college stories, and Dean admitting that he'd only gotten his GED, because he wanted to help Bobby cover the costs of taking Sam and him in, they fell quiet for a bit.  
"You like your coats long, huh?" Dean commented, wondering why he never noticed the black coat before.  
"Yes. Shorter coats make me look ridiculously tall. These don't."

Dean slumped down in the sofa.  
"So, I look ridiculous in my coat?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye.  
Cas blanched, scooting over from the other side of the sofa.  
"No! Nonono. You're much more muscular, less skin and bones than I. You look great in that jacket!"  
The fire in Dean's cheeks rekindled.  
"Thanks, but you're not skin and bones. No. You're lanky. Your muscles don't show until you use them. I bet you're much stronger than you look."  
Cas smiled, a bit sozzled, but so bright.  
"You think so?" he asked, gravelly voice low and soft.  
Dean nodded, swallowing around a dry throat again.

Cas giggled like a schoolgirl.  
"Ok then, Dean. I'll try something."  
He got up, socked feet slipping slightly on the wooden floor.  
"Here we go. Hang on, Dean!" he said and suddenly his arms shoved under Dean's butt and around his shoulders.  
"Whoa! Whadd're y'doin'?" Dean slurred, green eyes bright with shock.  
Cas' muscles tensed and he lifted Dean from the sofa, bridal style.  
Dean threw his arms around Cas' neck for stability, eyes impossibly wide.

Cas put his brow against Dean's and hummed softly.  
"Lifting you up." he murmured.  
"I see that... why?" Dean asked, voice so low it was almost a whisper, cheeks close to incinerating.  
"To see if I can. To see if you're right... are you right?"  
Cas' voice wasn't any louder than Dean's.  
Confused, Dean licked his lips.  
"'Bout what?"

Cas bit his lip before answering, still nearly whispering.  
"Am I stronger than I look?"  
Feeling the muscles in Cas' arms tremble slightly, Dean realised Cas was lifting a 200 pound man for about a minute now.  
Silently, he nodded.  
Cas grinned in a drunk way and twinkles danced in his blue eyes.  
"I'm gonna put you in bed. You're drunk, and need sleep."  
Dean snorted inelegantly.  
"I'm drunk? You're one to talk!"

Cas frowned at him, but in his inibriated state, it wasn't very intimidating.  
"Shush. I once found a liquor store..."  
Dean smirked, waiting for the rest, but Cas stayed silent.  
"And?" he prompted.  
Cas looked at him triumphantly.  
"And I drank it!"  
Dean put his head against Cas' and shook with contained laughter.  
"I can so put you in bed, Dean Winchester..." Cas declared and started to move.

However, he hadn't taken into account how slippery his socks were on the floor, and he lost balance, dropping Dean back on the sofa and landing on top of him.  
They ended up nose to nose, staring into eachother's eyes.  
"Fuck, Cas. Your eyes are really fucking blue..." Dean mumbled.  
Cas licked his lips, the little clicking sound as his tongue slipped back in his mouth loud between them.  
"Yours are so beautifully green... like a forrest. With sunshine flecks..."  
Dean hummed, eyes darting between those cerulean pools, as Cas' pupils dilated.  
Cas tilted his head and pressed his lips to Dean's with a soft sound.

Dean's world shrunk to those chapped, pink lips, pressing to his.  
He made a soft sound in the back of his throat, eyes falling shut.  
Cas echoed the sound and deepened the kiss, making Dean nearly swoon.  
 _'Either I'm dreaming, or I died and went to Heaven...'_ he though dazedly.  
Cas pulled back, both panting slightly.  
"Dean..."  
"Yeah?"  
Cas just made a desperate sound and crashed their mouths together again.  
When he felt Cas lick the seam of his mouth, Dean gladly gave access. Cas tasted of Johnny Walker and something sweeter, something just Cas. Dean moaned.  
Cas moaned back, curling his tongue around Dean's.

They kissed sloppilly for a while, but the whiskey took it's toll and the kisses got less and less. Cas snuggled down next to Dean, who wore a silly smile.  
"Cas... I liked that."  
Cas hummed softly, tucking his hands under his cheek, which lay on Deans chest.  
"Me too... I'm sleepy, Dean."  
Dean draped his arm around the slender shoulders.  
"Hmhm. So am I. We'll eat later."  
Cas just hummed and Dean cuddled him closer.


	13. Chapter 13

The sharp beep of his alarm stung Dean's head like dull knives. He hit the clock with vigour until it shut up.  
"Oh! OW! Fuck... I'm hung over..."  
Nausea curled his guts in loops and the light behind the dark green, velvet curtains was way too bright. He sat up, rubbing his head.  
"Jesus Christ on a motorbike..." he mumbled, squinting at his bed.  
"How the Hell did I get here? Last thing I remember... oh fuck!"  
His cheeks lit up instantly.  
 _'Cas... did he? Did I? Did we? No... we were on the couch... I don't remember going to bed... It must've been a dream... a very hot, very welcome dream... DAMNIT!'_  
Dean burried his face in his hands, almost wishing he'd just disappear.

A soft knock came to his door.  
"Dean? Are you up?"  
Cas. Dean closed his eyes, sighing.  
"Yeah... I'm upright. Awake is optional today..."  
That got a soft chuckle.  
The door opened and Cas poked his messy bedhead around the corner.  
"It's still coming down. Nemod texted me half an hour ago. Mass text to all employees to stay in and stay safe."  
Dean smiled, despite his hangover. Gabe was such a great boss.  
"I brought you your phone... I think you have texts too." Cas handed over the pricey hardware.

Dean smiled weakly at him in thanks.  
"You look ill. Are you ok?" Cas asked, worry evident in his voice.  
Dean's smile broadened.  
"Yeah... just a little hung over. I'll be fine in a bit."  
He opened his messages. There were two new ones.

Received at 7.36 pm Sam:  
Dean, I bumped into Gabe on my way home.  
His car wouldn't start and he was walking.  
So I offered him a lift.  
Wouldn't you know it: my car decided to stop two blocks from your place.  
Can Gabe and I crash at you and Cas'?  
Sam.

"Crap, Cas. Our brothers were stuck in the blizzard!"  
Cas hummed as he sat down next to him.  
"I know. Gabriel texted me too. Don't worry. I'm sure they are here. Gabriel knows where the spare key is, and I bet they are sound asleep as we speak."  
Dean bit his lip. He sure as Hell hoped so. But if Gabe arranged a mass text half an hour ago, he was probably safe and up.  
His second text was from Bobby, telling him to stay inside and don't even try and get his idjet ass to the salvage.  
"Looks like I'm off the hook too, bud."  
He showed Cas the text. Cas smiled, rubbing his hands.  
"Lazy breakfast!" he announced with relish and got up.

Dean rolled his head around his shoulders and followed suit.  
Cas snuck down the hallway to the burgundy room and knocked.  
An annoyed grunt was his answer.  
"Gabriel... it's a snowday... want to have a lazy breakfast?" Cas almost sang at the closed door.  
Within seconds, the door flew open and a tousled Gabriel stared at his brother with adoring eyes.  
"Lazy breakfast? Hells yeah! Bring it on, baby bro!"  
He glanced past Cas and smirked.  
"Morning Dean-o! Did you get that? Lazy breakfast! Go warn your Samsquatch brother!"  
Shaking his head, Dean made his way downstairs, where he found Sam, sprawled on the sofa under a thick quilt.

"Rise and shine, Sammy!" he belted, and Sam shot up, gasping.  
"Geez, Dean... aren't you supposed to be hung over?"  
Dean jumped over the back of the sofa and landed neatly just inches off of Sam's feet.  
"I'm ok now. How would you know?"  
Sam grinned, hazel eyes twinkling with joy.  
"When Gabe and I got here, you were passed out on the sofa with an almost empty bottle of JW Blue on the table. We thought it would be best to put you in bed. Alarms and such, not knowing if you'd have to work when the snow would stop."  
Dean nodded, lips pursed in agreement.  
"Well, it hasn't stopped yet. Snowday has officially been called, by both Bobby and Nemod."  
Sam scrabbled for his own phone.  
"Yup. Me too. Well, since we're stuck here..."

"Morning, Sambo!" Gabe called from the stairs.  
"Sleep ok? The bed in the guest room is average size, so you wouldn't fit in it. I would have taken the sofa otherwise."  
Sam smiled at him and stretched.  
"I'm ok, Gabe, thanks. This sofa is part bed! I slept fine."  
The energetic guy bounced down the stairs now.  
"Goody two shoes! Now get your Moose butt up and at'em, 'cause Cassie is making lazy breakfast!"  
Sam looked at Dean, who looked equally puzzled.  
Together the Winchester brothers got to the kitchen, curious what would happen.

What happened, was that Cas, and once he caught on Dean too, made a lavish breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, petit pains, orange juice and tea. To his amazement, even Dean liked the tea.  
"Oma taught us. Half English blend, half Earl Grey, steep five minutes."  
Mumbling around a big bite of bacon and eggs, Dean managed: "I fo wuv youw oma."  
Sam shook his head at his big brother and nipped his own tea.  
"God, Dean! You're like a big six year old... But I have to agree. This is amazing tea!"  
With a slight blush Cas ducked his head a bit, making Dean bite his cheek by accident.  
"Thank you, Sam."

"Say, Cassie..." Gabe started, as he and Sam were doing the dishes.  
Cas looked up from his book.  
"What is it, Gabriel?"  
"Was last night celebratory, or trying to forget?"  
Gabe held up one of their glasses from the night before.  
Cas blushed again, eyes flashing a panicked look at Dean.  
"Two things, actually. One: I had a great day, and this guy gifted me that botte, and two: Cas needed to warm up. He'd been out there."

Gabriel nearly dropped the glass.  
"What? Why?! You're having a payed vaykay!"  
His tone was worried and slightly insulted.  
Cas sighed and calmly put his book down.  
"I needed to check on the hives. The sudden drop of temperature might have surprised my bees."  
For the first time, Dean registered why exactly Cas had been outside yesterday.  
"Bees? You actually have beehives?"

Cas threw him a look.  
"Yes. I do. Why do you think I have so much honey?"  
Blinking, Dean recalled at least four jars in the pantry.  
"Awesome..." he breathed, making Sam slowly shake his head.  
"Seriously, Dean? You didn't even check the back yard?"  
Cas chuckled low.  
"He didn't even set foot in the scullery before yesterday..."

Gabe barked out a laugh.  
"How high did you jump?" he asked, eyes shining with mirth.  
"I didn't." Dean said surly, not happy with Cas divulging that little info.  
Gabe scoffed, drying a plate.  
"Yeah, right. Sammich here told me you love jumpscares... so fess up, bucko."  
Dean was about to chew out the little imp, when Cas piped up again.  
"He actually didn't, Gabriel. I saw him through the window. He recoiled a bit, but that was all. Now, are we done here? I feel like it's coffee time."

Gabriel snapped around.  
"Coffee time? You're kidding... did she..."  
Cas nodded and Gabriel whooped, slapping Sam's ass with the teatowel.  
Stiffening, Sam squawked.  
"Coffee time, Sam-a-lam! You'll love coffee time... you too, Dean-o!"  
Rubbing his butt, Sam gave Dean a confused look, which Dean could only return.  
Hell if he knew what that sugar junkie was on about.


	14. Chapter 14

It turned out to be amazing.  
Coffee time was another Dutch custom. Somewhere around ten to eleven am, coffee was served with some kind of sweet snack, like cookies or, in this case, Oma Novak's homemade apple pie.  
Gabriel sat on the floor, next to the coffee table and piped another big rosette of whipped cream on his piece of pie.  
"Gabriel, you have had enough cream now, haven't you?" Cas said, his tone one of a mother who had scolded her kid one too many times on the same thing.  
Gabriel looked up, index finger still in his mouth after swiping the cream off the piping tip.  
On the sofa Dean chuckled and cast a look at Sam.

To his amazement, Sam wasn't rolling his eyes or looking back at him. Those hazel eyes were watching Gabe intently, a slight blush dusting Sam's cheeks.  
 _'Really? Huh. Go figure... I think I need to have a heart to heart with him...'_  
Gabe seemed unaware of what he was doing to Dean's baby brother, and whined.  
"Awe Cassie... you sound like oma." he groused, swiping cream off his pie this time.  
Sam moaned very softly, but Dean caught it, now he was aware.  
Cas was unimpressed and just raised an eyebrow.  
"Good. Then you know not to try me."  
Dean shook his head, chortling.

"What?" the Novak brothers demanded in unison.  
"I just love how Cas is the more responsible one, even though he's the youngest." Dean replied, smirking.  
"Shut up, Winchester. I could say the same for you two. At least Sam went to college..." Gabriel started.  
"Hey!"  
Sam's outburst had them all jumping.  
"Dean didn't go to college, because he was working. He wanted to pay our way. Uncle Bobby didn't have much, but he took us in. Dean felt it was on **him** to help out. And my college tuition was only viable because Dean saved up for it. The first four years were **not** payed by a full ride. Pre-law is on the students themselves... or their family. So can it, Novak!"  
Gabriel gaped at Sam, while Cas smiled.

Dean patted Sam's back.  
"Thanks, Sammy. But I don't care what anybody thinks. I love my job, and I'm glad I didn't have to spend years in stuffy college banks to be able to do it."  
Sam shrunk down a bit, looking at his slender hands.  
"I know, but I hate when people act like you're stupid. You're not. You're smart too. Just not the kind of smart that gets taught in college."  
Gabriel finally closed his mouth and squatted next to Sam.  
"I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to... I should've asked before drawing any conclusions."  
Sam looked at him, and Dean saw equal parts pissed off and pleading in his look.  
"Don't apologise to me, Gabe..." was all he said, and Gabe blushed before looking up at his friend.  
"I'm sorry, Dean-o... I shouldn't have."

Dean watched him, noting how he had a hand on Sam's knee, lightly but still consoling. And how Sam was trying his damndest to not look at that hand. He smirked.  
"That's ok, Gabe. I don't mind. Your way of thinking mirrors how most people see me."  
Gabriel frowned and stood, reluctantly taking his hand off Sam, who instantly started staring at his hands between his knees.  
"I know. But I'm your friend. I should have known better. Way better. There is no excuse." Gabe bit out.  
He turned and walked off towards the kitchen, leaving his uneaten pie.  
Dean looked at it, then at Cas, who looked alarmed.  
'Go. I got this.' Dean signed Cas with his eyes. Cas nodded and followed his brother, leaving Dean to handle his.

"Sam..." Dean said low, but Sam didn't move.  
"Sammy... come on. Talk to me." he coaxed.  
Sam turned his head away. "There's nothing to say, Dean."  
Dean shook his head and smiled.  
"What are you, Sam? Thirteen? I got your back then, and I got it now. C'mon... speak up."  
Sam reluctantly turned back.  
"There we go. Eyecontact. Very important in talks."  
Sam smiled wanly, but said nothing.

"Ok. Then I'll start..."  
Sam widened his eyes and swallowed hard, knowing there was no escaping his brother now.  
"Ok, ok... you don't have to... I just wanna know one thing..." Sam amended.  
He sighed, pulling his slender hand through his locks, before locking his hazel eyes on Deans.  
"How did you know, Dean?" he asked softly, dropping his gaze again.  
Dean smiled indulgently.  
"When Aaron flirted with me in highschool, I kinda figured it out. I felt exactly the same way when Rhonda Hurley flirted with me."

Sam bit his lip.  
"How did you not freak out? You were, what. Sixteen, seventeen? I'm a grownass man, and I'm still confused and scared."  
Dean shook his head, thinking back.  
"Oh, I freaked out, Sammy. I spent a whole night hyperventilating about it. Then Bobby sat me down and poured me a medicinal coffee. "Boy, it don't matter if you like boys or girls, or both, or only one special one and no-one else... you are still you. Ya ain't broken, ya ain't sick, and ya sure as Hell ain't weird or perverted. You are Dean Winchester, and those who don't like you because of who you love, can go screw themselves." he said to me. And he's right, Sam. Sure you liked Jessica and Madison and Amelia, but now you like Gabe, so what? How did you feel when I came out? There's no difference."

Sam finally looked up and smiled.  
"You're right. You and Bobby. I shouldn't let this get to me. But how do I go from here? Does he like me back? Is he even..."  
His voice tapered out uncertainly.  
Dean ruffled his hair affectionately.  
"I can tell you one thing... Gabe is pan. He doesn't mind what's in your pants. As for the rest... just act like you would with a girl. Find interests, woo him. And ask me if I got inside information..."  
Sam widened his eyes, hope radiating from them.  
"He likes to be surprised... he likes tall people... and he likes it a bit rough..." Dean whispered, winking.  
Sam blushed, but grinned.

"Dean..." came Cas' gravelly voice from the archway.  
Dean looked up, trying to not imagine pushing that sexy guy against the wall there.  
 _'Damned vivid dreaming... I can almost taste him...'_  
"What's up, Cas?" he replied, fighting his blush.  
Cas' eyes turned upwards.  
"The ceiling... Could you come here. Gabriel has a question for you."  
Shaking his head, Dean got to his feet. When he passed Cas, he patted his shoulder.  
"Don't ever change, Cas."

Gabe sat at the breakfast bar, looking utterly miserable.  
"What's up, bud? You wanted to see me?" Dean asked, sliding his butt on the stool next to Gabe.  
Gabe turned his whiskey-coloured eyes on him.  
"Tell me how bad I fucked up..." he started, then paused. "No wait... don't tell me. I don't wanna know!"  
He whined deep in his throat and hugged his head.  
"Typical Gabriel. Fucking up not one, but two good friendships in one stupid remark..."

Dean put his arm around the shorter man's back.  
"You didn't fuck up, Gabe. We're cool. I know you. You snapped. You do that, and then you lash out. I probably got too close, didn't I?"  
Gabe hummed, not untangling or even looking at Dean.  
"Yeah. A bit. Cassie has always been the voice of reason. Oma said it was because I flung into fullfledged rebellion after dad went missing, and never came out. I dunno. I just never... I shouldn't have judged. That's not on me to do."  
Dean shook him slightly.  
"It doesn't matter, Gabe. You're you, and Sammy and I like you and Cas. Even the best friends have fights at times. No biggie."

"Dean is right, Gabe. I'm sorry for snapping at you."  
Gabriel uncurled and slowly turned around.  
Sam stood in the archway, hazel eyes on the golden haired man.  
"I shouldn't have. But I've been on edge lately. And since Lisa... Let's say I find myself seeing slights at Dean where there are none."  
Gabriel smiled sadly.  
"That's ok, Sammich. Let's say we were both out of line and shut up about this, ok?"  
Sam smiled, one dimple popping up.  
"Ok. Deal. Now, come eat your pie, sugar junkie." he quipped and turned.  
Dean saw Gabe checking out Sam's butt as he followed and grinned. This could get interesting...


	15. Chapter 15

The Novaks and the Winchesters spent the rest of their snowday playing boardgames, watching movies and basically building their friendships.  
As the snowladen clouds brought dusk in as early as four thirty in February, Gabriel checked his phone. He nodded Dean over, whispering in a hushed voice.  
"Dean-o, look. Forecast is for another five inches. Shit, this usually only happens in December or March. Should I..."  
Dean nodded as his eyes scanned the radar image.  
"Yeah, my bet is no-one will want to get out."

Not five minutes later, Gabriel excused himself to go to the bathroom. When both his and Cas' phoned binged in unison, Dean smirked.  
Sam's phone followed, making both him and Cas check their messages.  
"Another snowday for me." Sam smiled. "Cas?"  
Cas licked his lips, causing Dean to bite his.  
"Yes. Me to. So the message for Gabriel will probably read the same."  
On cue, Dean's phone started playing Kenny Rogers' 'The Gambler'.  
Holding up his finger, he picked up.

"Bobby. Hi." he smiled.  
"How you idjets always know it's me, is really weird." came the gruff answer.  
On the sofa, Sam called out: "It's called a 'personalised ringtone', Bobby!"  
Waving his hand to shush the Moose, Dean grinned.  
"I'm psychic... so, another snowday?"  
Bobby grumbled about not believing in faerietales before answering the question.  
"Yeah. But you'd better count on overtime, once it's all clear. People are dumbasses when driving in snow."  
Dean sighed and switched ears.  
"I know, Bobby. And we'll have to see to Sammy's bucket of bolts too. It stopped."  
Sam balked in silence, as Gabriel came back from his 'bathroom break'.  
"Balls... oh well, I'll put him on the list right away. We'll tow him first."  
Giving Sam the thumbs up, Dean thanked Bobby and ended the call.

"What's cooking, Sammoose? You look insulted." Gabriel asked.  
Sam's cheeks dusted pink and he grumbled.  
"Dean called my car a bucket of bolts..."  
"Aaaawwww!" Gabe cooed and hugged Sam over the backrest.  
Sam's cheeks lit up this time, but he didn't pull free.  
"He's not wrong, Sammykins, but it wasn't nice of him. His is older, so his should be the bucket of bolts..."  
That had Dean up in arms. Nobody downtalked his Baby!

"Hey! At least mine doesn't need a frikken computermanual to be repaired."  
Cas looked from one to the other and shook his head slowly.  
"Gabriel... wasn't it gezellig until now? I'd like to keep it that way. We're doomed to another day in eachother's company." he stated and handed over Gabe's phone.  
Gabe looked at it, but Dean saw he didn't open his messages.  
"YAY! More free time! You're right! Cassie. Let's keep it gezellig."

Sam looked at Dean, Dean shrugged.  
"What does **that** mean? It sounded like you got phlegm stuck in your throat..." Sam asked.  
Which caused Gabriel to giggle uncontrolably, but Cas explained in that patient air he had.  
"Gezellig is the coziness, comfort and warmth of being at home, or being together with friends or loved ones, sharing time in a pleasant and nice atmosphere."  
Dean smirked at the preciseness of it.  
"Sounds like you had to explain that before..." he chuckled.

"You have no idea..." came the dry reply, which renewed Gabe's giggling fit.  
"Seriously, Gabriel? One should think you were used to it by now..." Cas sighed.  
Slowly, hiccupping, Gabe resurfaced, tears streaking his face.  
"Nope. Never will get old, Cassie. You're so funny!"  
Cas blinked his deep blue eyes a few times.  
"I don't intend to be..." he said, a hint of confusion in his voice.  
Howling with laughter, Gabriel sank back to the floor.  
"That's the beauty of it, little bro! Ohohoh... stohohooop. You're killing me!"

Biting back his own chuckles, Dean put his hand on Cas' shoulder.  
"It's ok, Cas. I think the sugar high is hitting its peak. He did eat all those jellybeans..."  
Nodding, Cas eyed his brother.  
"And the red rope, and those suckers... really, Gabriel, you should watch that."  
Gabriel was saved from commenting by his phone playing 'Sugar sugar' from the Archies.

"Oma! Hoe gaat het?" he all but yodeled.  
Dean tried to ignore the call, but it was in Dutch, which he found intrigueing.  
"Ja, ik ben bij Castiël. Mijn stomme Duitse wagentje besloot niet te starten.  
Hmhm. Lekker hoor. Dank u.  
Ja, morgen ook nog. Bent u ook veilig? Ok.  
Ja, doe ik... neeee dat doe ik niet... ok. Dag oma. Ik ook van u."

Amused, Cas shook his dark head. Dean took that as a sign that he could follow the conversation.  
"Dude, what was that all about?" he whispered.  
"I gather that oma wanted to know if he was safe, asked him if I had shared the pie, if he was still off tomorrow and that she told him to say Hi to me." was the soft answer.  
"Almost on the nose, brother dearest! She also asked me to give you a kiss..." Gabe smirked.

"Gabriel, dat geloof ik niet. Wat zei ze?" Cas bit out sharply.  
The fact that Cas lapsed into nearly flawless Dutch, took Dean by surprise.  
"Ok, ok. Ze vroeg me om te zorgen dat je hem eindelijk zou zoenen." came Gabriel's answer in equally smooth Dutch, accompanied by twinkling eyes.  
A furious blush rose on Cas' cheeks.  
"Dat zijn jullie zaken niet!" snapped Cas back and he quickly stood.

"Sam, Dean. Excuse me." he said, voice straining to be polite.  
"I will be in my room."  
Flabbergasted, the Winchesters watched him climb the stairs regally.  
"Gabe, Dude... what the Hell?" Dean asked, worried about his friend.  
Gabriel bit his lip, the look in his eyes uncharacteristicly guilty.  
"I think you might want to see if he's ok..." Gabe all but whispered.  
"Oma and I might have overstepped our bounds a bit..."

oooOooo oooOooo oooOooo

Dutch to English translations:  
Oma! Hoe gaat het? - Nanna! How are you?  
Ja, ik ben bij Castiël. - Yes I'm at Castiël's  
Mijn stomme Duitse wagentje besloot niet te starten. - my silly little German car wouldn't start  
Lekker hoor. Dank u. - Nommy. Thank you.  
Ja, morgen ook nog. Bent u ook veilig? Ok. - Yes, tomorrow too. Thank you, are you safe too?  
Ja, doe ik... - Yes, I will...  
neeee dat doe ik niet... - noooo, I won't...  
Dag oma. - Bye Nanna  
Ik ook van u. - Love you too  
dat geloof ik niet. - I don't believe that  
Wat zei ze? - what did she say?  
Ze vroeg me om te zorgen dat je hem eindelijk zou zoenen. - She asked me to get you to finally kiss him.

Dat zijn jullie zaken niet! - That's none of your business!


	16. Chapter 16

Carefully, Dean knocked on the door of Cas' room.  
"Cas?" he could barely hear his own voice over the thumping of his heart.  
No reply came, so Dean tried again.  
"Cas, please. I'm worried about you. Talk to me, buddy."  
Softly the door slid open, revealing blue eyes in a shockingly pale face.  
"I will be ok, Dean." Cas' voice sounded odd and mechanic. Devoid of emotions.  
Taking in the blank eyes, the deadpan face and the red rims around his eyes, Dean called bullshit.

"C'mon Cas. You know that ain't true." he said, putting his hand against the door.  
Cas glared daggers at the hand, but didn't say anything.  
"Come on down, bud." Dean tried.  
Cas' deadpan intensified.  
"No."  
The rebuttal was blunt, harsh and final, but Dean wasn't having it. As Cas turned away and walked towards his bed, Dean pushed the door open further and leaned against the frame.  
"Please come down..." he tried.  
The smiteworthy glare Cas directed at him didn't hurt Dean as much as the clipped, brutal sentence Cas barked out.  
"Dean! I said no!"

Dean's relaxed stance changed instantly into a determined one. He pushed away from the door and strode to where Cas sat. Squatting down, he caught his eyes and his hands.  
"Talk to me." he simply stated, an honest offer to be a soundboard, someone to vent to.  
Cas' façade broke, and those deep blue eyes turned sad.  
"I didn't mean to... Dean, I'm sorry."  
His voice was soft, pleading for understanding.  
"For what, Cas? You didn't do anything wrong in my eyes. As I understood, Gabe and your grandma were bang out of order about something. I don't know or even care what. It hurt you enough to run up here and hide. So, talk to me."

Cas scoffed weakly, pulling his hands free.  
"I did not 'run'." he protested, fingers placing the airquotes.  
Dean merely shrugged.  
"Not all running is actually walking fast. You ran, by calmly ascending the stairs. Don't bullshit me, Cas. Talk."  
Cas curled into himself, arms folded around his midriff.  
"Dean.. I can't..."

Seeing his friend and secret crush hurt so bad broke through all of Dean's defensive walls and he pulled Cas towards him, encircling him gently with his arms.  
"Ok. Allright. Don't worry, buddy. It's fine. I'm just concerned. You're hurting, and I can't help if you don't talk."  
The exhaled breath that warmed his shoulder, came out shuddering.  
"This is actually helping already..." Cas admitted softly.  
Dean smiled sweetly and hugged a little tighter.  
"What? The hug, or the offer to help?"

Snuggling down into the hug, Cas sighed shakily.  
"Both... and the compassion. The indisciminate acceptance, while you don't know what's going on."  
Placing one hand lightly on the soft, ebony locks, Dean offered all the solace Cas needed.  
"I don't need to know, Cas. I just need you to be ok. Deal?"  
Cas hummed and finally hugged Dean back.  
Firmly knocking his libido on the head, Dean stroked Cas' hair, quietly soaking up the feel of it brushing his palm.  
Cas shuddered another sigh, and Dean started mumbling sweet nothings to calm him down.

Dean didn't keep track of how long they sat there, but after a bit, Cas pulled back.  
His eyes were dry and soft, his cheeks sporting a light blush.  
"Thank you, Dean. I feel much better now."  
Fighting the desire to pull Cas back into his arms, Dean pulled up one corner of his mouth in a semblance of a smile.  
"You're welcome. Wanna come down? I'm sure Sam has chewed Gabe out by now, for hurting you."

Cas sighed again, pulling back even more.  
"Could you excuse me? I'm feeling rather tired and want to have an early night."  
Patting his knee, Dean got up.  
"Sure thing. You go to bed, rest up. We'll see you tomorrow."  
When he closed the door on Cas, he leaned back against it, head in hand.  
 _'Fuck... I'm soooo fucking screwed! He was so distressed, sad, and all I could think was that I wanted him to kiss me...'_

Once he collected himself, he went downstairs.  
"Well? How is he?" Gabe anxiously asked from next to Sam on the sofa.  
Dean took in their positions, Sam's blush and Gabe's face, and concluded that they had been in the same situation as him and Cas.  
Sam consoling, Gabe freaking out, ending in an awkward hug.  
"Exhausted. You broke him, Gabriel. I don't think you should go up." Dean warned as Gabe stood after the first word.

"But..."  
"No buts. He wanted to sleep. Go grovel tomorrow. I'm just here to tell you this, get my beer, and then I'm heading up as well. I need some time with my music and my Vonnegut."  
Sam smiled teasingly.  
"Vonnegut? Since when does he write for Busty Asian Beauties?"  
Dean grabbed his beer, drained it in one go and shot Sam a mock glare.  
"Shut up, bitch."  
"Make me, jerk."

Tilting his head, Dean narrowed his eyes to hide the spark of fun in them.  
"Is that a challenge, Sammy?"  
"Only if you want to, De..."  
Gabriel watched them like a ping-pong match.  
"Guys, guys... don't fight..." he plead, golden eyes begging.  
Dean smirked at Sam, who took his cue flawlessly.  
"Oh we're not fighting... yet." he stated simply, standing up and taking a fighting stance.  
"Bring it, sasquatch." Dean challenged, emulating him.

"No!" Gabriel suddenly called out, jumping between the Winchesters, arms outstretched.  
His fingers brushed Dean's chest, and his other hand landed on Sam's ribs.  
"I won't have this. I'm dead tired of the fight with Cassie, I will not allow you two boneheads to start falling apart like we just did. You're brothers!"  
Silently, Dean signed Sam to take this chance.  
Sam nodded once, suddenly picked up Gabriel and flung him over his large shoulder.

"Whoa! What the... Sam?" garbled Gabe in surprise.  
Sam carried him to the stairs, one arm in the hollows of his knees, one hand on his butt.  
"Dead tired, you said? Time to get you in bed too, angel."  
Cheeks turning red, Gabriel just gaped at first, then he recovered.  
"I'm no angel. And you're a yeti! Put me down!" Gabe called out, kicking his feet and pummeling his fists on Sam's back.  
Dean noticed he wasn't really struggling to get down though.  
"See ya, Sammy! Don't be up too long." he quipped and cleared away the last mess. No way they would be down here again today.  
After that, he went upstairs, put his wireless earphones on and turned up AC/DC.


	17. Chapter 17

When Dean came downstairs the next day, he was surprised to find his brother on the sofa, snoring slightly, and no-one else there. Shrugging, he went into the kitchen, got the coffee maker going and started to make another lazy breakfast.  
This time he made French toast and fresh orange juice.  
He was plating the second to last bit of toast, when Sam came shuffling in, hair toussled and eyes still half shut.  
"Mornin', Dean. What time is it?"  
Watching his baby brother run a hand through his locks, having them fall back in a flawless do without the aid of a brush, Dean smiled warmly.  
"Just past nine. Breakfast is almost done."

Yawning, Sam sank on a stool at the breakfast bar.  
"Late night last night, Sammy?" Dean teased as he slid a mug of coffee over to him.  
Sam's bitchface was halfassed, because he just took his first sip of coffee.  
"Mmm. Shut up."  
Dean chuckled and flipped his toast.  
"Don't tell me you didn't at least kiss him." he asked, a bit exasperated. "Geez. I thought you had your freakout sorted..."  
Sam just sipped again.  
"Aw, Sam... come on, bud." Dean encouraged him.

"Shut up, Dean. I can't tell you unless you shut up, can I?"  
With a snap, Dean closed his mouth.  
Sam hummed and took another big sip.  
"Hm. So, I carry him to his room, and he's still struggling, but not very hard."  
Dean grinned as he plated the last toast. He'd been right about that then.  
"When I dropped him on the bed... Geez, Dean, you should've seen him... he was flushed and his eyes were shooting fire. So hot. So, before he could start yelling at me some more, I shut him up."  
Seeing the amused smirk and raised eyebrows on his brother, Sam grinned.  
"Yeah... by putting my mouth on his. You got it."

Dean swallowed his coffee and his smirk turned into a grin.  
"That's my boy! And?"  
Sam licked his lips, trying to hide the triumphant grin that was forming.  
"He was surprised, but soon got the idea. He's one Hell of a kisser, by the way. The things he does with his tongue..."  
Dean clapped his hands over his ears. "Ooohhhkeeeyyyy. That's it. I hit my limit on details. Lalala!"

Sam snorted in his coffee.  
"You child."  
Then he turned serious and grabbed one of his brother's hands between his.  
"Thanks, De..." he intoned.  
Dean smiled warmly at him.  
"You're welcome, Sammy. Any time..."  
It seemed that was as emotional was he was willing to be, because his next words were: "So? Made out, or..."  
Sam pushed his shoulder.  
"Just made out. You know me. I don't put out that easily."

They drank their coffee in companionable silence, until a sleepy sounding voice came from the livingroom.  
"Is that French toast I smell? Hmm, Cassie you're ama..."  
The snap with which Gabriel closed his mouth, sounded loud in the silent kitchen.  
Dean raised his coffee at him.  
"Morning, Gabe. Cas ain't up yet... so I guess **I'm** amazing, huh?" he quipped.  
Gabriel swallowed hard and his cheeks lit up. His eyes were taking in all of sleepy Sam.  
"You brush your hair before breakfast, Sammich? Geez."

Dean chugged the last of his coffee and clapped Gabe on the shoulder.  
"Nope. He doesn't even own a brush."  
Gabe's head snapped around to him.  
"Wait, what? I don't believe you!"  
Dean tilted his head at Sam, who sighed and nodded resignedly. Dean walked over to his brother and wildly ruffled both hands through Sam's hair, making it stick out everywhere.  
Sam rolled his eyes and pulled his hands through the mess once, without even snagging them.  
When he was done, his hair was flawless once again.

Gabriel gaped.  
"No way... That's not fair! I was polite with you being tall, I can deal with you being handsome... but perfect hair? Damn you to Hell!"  
Dean burst out laughing, while Sam ducked his head to hide his pleased grin.  
"That's my baby brother, Gabe. You'll get used to it."  
Gabriel huffed and sat down crossily.  
"And you? You got any amazing qualities Cassie and I need to know of? You don't need to work out, because you are just simply this muscled?"  
Dean sniggered and stroked his slight pudge.  
"Well..." he started, but Gabriel slapped his hand on the bar.  
"You Winchesters! Not only do you hit the jackpot for handsomeness, but you get all the good perks too!"

When Cas' gravelly voice rang out, Dean snapped his head around.  
"Oh Gabriel, quit whining. You're the one who can gorge himself on mainly sugar, and not gain an ounce. Or develop diabetes."  
Dean got to his feet and grabbed plates and silverware.  
"Morning sunshine. You sleep ok?" he asked semi-casual.  
The bright smile Cas sent him, warmed his whole being.  
"Exceptionally, thank you, Dean. And now you have made breakfast."  
Handing out plates with French toast, Dean ducked his head a bit.  
"Just thought y'all might like to sleep in a bit." he mumbled softly.

"And I'm sure we all appreciate it very much." Cas replied warmly.  
His glance towards his brother didn't go unnoticed.  
Cheeks bulging, Gabriel tried to agree with Cas, spraying French toast.  
Sam chuckled and silently handed him a napkin.  
One massive gulp later, Gabe could speak.  
"Yeah. This is great French toast. Castiël...?" He eyed his brother carefully.  
"Are we good?"

Cas sighed as he cut a corner of his toast.  
"Yes, Gabriel. We are fine. I overreacted, but you were out of line, and I gathered from Dean.."  
A fond smile got sent to Dean, making him blush deeper.  
"... that you know it too. Just don't. Ok?"  
Gabriel dropped his chin on his chest.  
"I know... sorry Cassie."  
He sounded like a scolded child, and Dean noticed Sam rubbing the goldenhaired man's back.  
"Zand erover, broer." Cas said with a warm smile.  
Gabe instantly brightened and dug into his plate with renewed vigour.  
The Winchesters smiled at eachother, glad the Novaks were ok.

oooOooo oooOooo oooOooo

Translation  
Zand erover, broer. - water under the bridge, brother. (No it's not litteral. It is a saying. If you translate litterally, it says 'sand over it'. Oh well, semantics, huh)


	18. Chapter 18

The snow finally let up, and as predicted, Dean got swamped. He put in a lot of hours, but Cas had taken over cooking when Dean had to work late.  
"I'd forgotten how nice a home cooked meal is, Dean." he said one night, when they were sitting on the couch after doing the dishes.  
He was wearing yet another faded and worn band shirt and his bare feet were on the sofa. The light caught on his third earring. He'd come home from shopping one day, wearing it.  
"I found this... look, Dean, it has a tiny cuff, which attaches this chain to the stud..."  
It turned out Cas used to wear three earrings, way back in highschool and college.  
Dean had thought it frikken hot and his dreams that night all featured that piece of jewelry.

Once the panicked rush of owners of broken down cars subsided, Cas' vacation was in it's last week. They switched turns cooking, and settled in a sweet routine.  
"We should go somewhere, Cas." Dean suggested one night, near the end of the week.  
"A movie or something. We never got to celebrate your vacation."  
Cas looked thoughtful, his blue eyes rolled up and his pink lips pouting. Dean nearly drooled.  
"I'm not working at the bar tonight, but I heard there was a local cover band playing... we could go see them."  
Dean sat up straight.  
"What do they cover?"

Turned out the band covered a lot of classic rock, so Dean was on board in no time!  
They got ready, and when Dean saw Cas don his black coat, his mouth ran dry.  
The all black outfits made Cas look dark, but add that coat and he looked dark and badass.  
"Lookin' good there, bud. You ready to go?"  
Cas nodded, a slight blush colouring his cheeks.  
"Can we take your car, please, Dean?"  
Dean chuckled as he grabbed his keys. Of course he would take Baby, but he couldn't resist teasing Cas a little.  
"You afraid your Mark 5 will stall?"  
Cas shot him a bitchface to rival Sam's and just crossed his arms.

He looked so domineering, Dean flushed.  
"Just get your ass to my Baby... she'll match your colourscheme..." he quipped, hiding his eyes.  
As Cas turned, Dean gulped down his arousal.  
He was sure his dreams would feature this dark Cas tonight. Damn he was HOT!  
Cas turned his head and quirked a questioning eyebrow.  
"Comin'!" Dean called and finally moved.

They got at the bar early and Cas vanished to the back to help out a bit.  
Dean looked around, nursing his beer.  
This bar had become his hang out with Gabe.  
Especially when Cas was working.  
They'd laugh, banter and listen to the bands playing.  
This band was one Dean hadn't heard yet, and he was eager to learn more.  
He drained his beer and sauntered backstage, where he was pleasantly surprised

The band was actually made up of quite a few people Dean knew.  
"Ash!" he bellowed as he clapped the lanky guy with the perpetual mullet on his shoulder.  
"Well, I'll be damned! Dean Winchester!" Ash replied, pulling Dean into a hug.  
"Dude... long time no see. You still with whatsherface?"  
Dean scowled. "Naah. Free man... for now."  
Ash chuckled. "Still not swinging your way, pal."  
He glanced over Dean's shoulder and grinned.  
"But he might... looks hot. Just your type too, Dean." he whispered in Dean's ear.

Dean followed his gaze and smirked.  
"That's actually my new housemate. Cas! C'mover here!" he called and motioned him over.  
Castiel tilted his head and sauntered over.  
"Hello." he said kindly, and Dean smiled warmly.  
"Ash, Cas. Cas, this is my old pal Ash."  
Cas smiled politely and shook Ash's hand.  
"Housemate? Like..."

"Like he pays me rent and we share my house. It is too big and pricey to live alone."  
Cas blinked his eyes innocently, and Dean smirked.  
"Sorry, Ash. Cas has this ability to cut of innuendo before it even roots."  
Ash was grinning and eyeing Cas up. It made Dean uncomfortable, until the guy nodded and waved his hand at the band equipment.  
"Dudes, you're right on time. Our roadies have not shown..."  
Dean chuckled and had to ask.  
"Who are they then? And are you sure they aren't baked like 4/20?"

Ash pursed his lips in thought.  
"Andy... could be, but Gordon..."  
Cas tilted his head at Dean.  
"Dean... wasn't there a Gordon at the Salvage?"  
Dean realised why this particular guy hadn't shown.  
"Shit... Ash, is that Gordon Walker?"  
Ash nodded, brow furrowed in concern.

"Yeah. Why? What did Gordy do this time? Did he glue his leg to a tyre again, or what?"  
Seeing Cas widen his eyes at that, Dean chuckled.  
"Naah. He hasn't done that in two months. He slammed a car door on his fingers. Two shattered, one broken..."  
Ash paled even more.  
"Holy Hellballs. Well, then he ain't showing anytime soon, huh?"

He asessed both Dean and Cas.  
"Could you...?"  
Dean already had his hands on a big amplifier.  
"Glad to help, mr. Ash." Cas said and picked up a slightly smaller amp.  
"Dude! No mr! Just Ash..."  
Dean grinned widely. Cas would fit right in with his old friends.  
"Or dr. Badass... right?" he quipped, and Ash laughed out loud.  
"Dude! That's ancient! But, yeah... If you put that amp there, Dean, and Cas, yours goes right next to it."

Dean loved lugging around the stuff for Ash. He kinda felt like part of the band.  
Not only Ash was playing in it, but also Roy, Walt and Viktor.  
Dean joked around with them and Cas, while feasting his eyes on Cas doing some heavy lifting. It was perfect.  
Around the time the band was set up and ready for sound check, Cas sat with his back against a big amplifier-speaker set, legs pulled up, crossed at the ankles, his arms on his knees.  
The black leather bands on his wrists looked stark against his pale skin, his silver jewelry shone in the light, and Dean had only seen Cas this relaxed behind the stove, or on the sofa.  
An easy smile played around his mouth as his eyes followed Dean and his friends around.  
Dean's heart beat harder and a warm glow filled him.  
 _'Crap... I think I'm... oh no... double crap... Am I... in LOVE?'_


	19. Chapter 19

That realisation punched the breath out of him.  
He'd known he thought Cas sexy, but being in love... Whoa. Whole other kettle of fish.  
Cas tilted his head in that adorable confused way he had, and a frown started to form.  
Dead isn't want to see the frown. Cas had been so at ease...  
"Dean... What's wrong?" Cas asked, worry audible.  
"Nothing, buddy. Nothing at all. Just a little dark thought crossing my mind. I already kicked it out." Dean lied.  
That thought was swirling around his head, and it was anything but dark. It lit up Dean's being like a frikken blowtorch.

Cas relaxed again and that soft smile reappeared.  
"Good. You were having so much fun, I'd hate to see you saddened by a simple thought."  
Dean screamed internally. The consideration, the warmth... His mind could easily see those as signs that his affections were reciprocated... which they couldn't be. Why would Cas think of him that way? Hell, he was so screwed!  
Decidedly shoving all that crap down, Dean smiled at Cas and winked.  
Then he turned away, not seeing the worried frown deepening.

The night was awesome... Ash and the guys played so many of Dean's favorites, they totally rocked the whole bar. Cas looked like he had fun, and the drinks were drowning Dean's internal freakout perfectly.  
"Dean..." Cas. Sweet, amazing Cas, with his beautiful eyes and sexy voice.  
"Yeah? What's on your mind, Honeybee?" Shit... did he really just say that? Damn his mouth!  
Cas just chuckled, although a little blush was dusted over his cheeks. But that could be from the warmth in the bar.  
"Dean, you're plastered. Hand me the keys. I'll drive us home."  
Clutching his Baby's keys, Dean shook his head.

"Nuh-uh. My Baby... you're not driving her..." he stubbornly groused.  
The amused halfsmile slid from Cas' face, to be replaced by a stonecold stare.  
"Fine by me. But neither are you. So, shall we camp out behind the stage then?"  
The bartender, a young looking guy wearing a baseball cap with the name 'Alfie' on it, cut in.  
"Castiël, you are like my big brother, but you know I can't let you do that."  
Cas smiled warmly at Alfie, making Dean turn green with jealousy.

"I know, Samandriël. Don't worry. It's just to press my point home, Dean is **not** allowed to drive."  
Dean glared at the kid, still clutching his keys.  
"Yeah... butt out, Salmon... Simmin... Alfie. My Cas is bein' str'ckt to me..." **Fuck**! He definitely had too much. His mouth and brain were not working right.  
Alfie chuckled and shook his blonde head.  
"Too much heart has always been your problem, Castiël. Guard it, ok? I don't want to see it get broken."

Dean tilted his head at Alfie and frowned. What was that kid on about?  
"Thank you for caring, Samandriël. I am ok though. I just need to get this inibriated lug home now." Cas said, still smiling at the kid. Cas should not smile at Alfie, Dean decided.  
He sighed theatrically and shoved his keys over the bar.  
"Here, Cas. You get us home. But not a scr'tch, you gomme?"  
Cas inclined his head and carefully took the keys.  
"Thank you, Dean. I will take excellent care of your Baby. Come on, let us go home."  
He pulled Dean to his feet, tugged him in his jacket, and together they made their way to the door.

Dean was watching Cas drive his Baby, and he swallowed down a big lump.  
Cas looked right at home. Black coat lying smoothly on the black leather of Baby's upholstery and his long, slender fingers caressing the steeringwheel.  
Dean shuddered. What if those long fingers were to caress his cheeks, or even better, his collarbone, or his arms, or...  
Dean bit his lip as his fantasy unfolded.

"Dean, are you ok? Do you feel sick?"  
Cas' worried voice cut through Dean's daydreams like a hacksaw.  
"Whu? No. 'M fine. Bit woozy, but I c'n hold m' lickr just fine."  
A sceptic sideways glance out of those blue eyes.  
"Are you certain? You were moaning a bit there."  
Glad the car was dark, Dean ducked his head to hide his flaming cheeks.  
"Yeah..'m ok. Mind was w'ndrin' a bit..."  
Cas hummed and returned his focus to the road.

Once Baby was smoothly parked in her garage, Cas hauled Dean to the house.  
Leaning against that warm, slender body, Dean was amazed at how strong Cas actually was. The guy didn't even stumble. He just manouvered Dean through the front door and helped him out of his shoes and jacket.  
Trying to stay upright, Dean swayed on the spot.  
"Hey, Cas?"  
Cas closed the door to the wardrobe and turned to him.  
"Yes Dean, what is it?" It sounded a bit exasperated.

"You're awesome..." Dean said, trying to get a hand in his pocket.  
Cas grabbed both his shoulders to steady him and smiled softly.  
"Thank you, Dean. That's nice to hear."  
Dean's head flopped to the side and he studied those blue, blue eyes.  
"Cas?" he breathed, not sure what he was going to say.  
"Hm?" Cas replied, looking right back at him.

Dean let his hand slide along Cask neck and cup the back of that dark head.  
His lips made a soft click as they parted.  
Drunk as he was, Dean could still feel his heart thump like a drum.  
"C'n I keep you?" he whispered and pressed his mouth to those pink lips in front of him.  
Cas stiffened, then relaxed, a soft, keening sound coming from his throat.  
Dean deepened the kiss and pulled Cas closer.

Cas moaned, then, oh wonder of wonders, he returned preassure. He was kissing back!  
All too soon, Dean felt Cas pull back.  
He whined and pulled at Cas to keep him close.  
"Damnit, Dean... you're drunk. I can't do this." Cas said low, untangling himself from Dean's grip.  
"No! Cas... I want this... really I do."  
Cas' face told him he didn't believe Dean.  
"I do, Cas... honest. I drank so much b'cs... 'Cause I wanted this so bad. But I can't have it."

Cas took Dean's chin between those slender yet strong fingers and forced him to look into those blue eyes.  
"Is this true? You want to kiss me?" he asked, tone demanding an answer.  
Dean mutely nodded, turned on beyond belief at this dominant behaviour.  
Cas groaned and reattatched his mouth to Dean's, tongue demanding entrance.  
Dean gladly gave it, revelling in the taste of Cas.


	20. Chapter 20

**A.N. In the original, this chapter had some... pretty hot stuff going. Since FFN doesn't want that to be published here (and I respect that) I clipped some stuff and made a new chapter of it. If you want the forbidden fruits, it's on AO3. Same alias, same title. Love you!**

oooOooo oooOooo oooOooo

Cas pressed his body forward, steering them both towards the sofa. He pulled back from their kiss, panting.  
"Dean..."  
Dean smiled stupidly at him, green eyes lustblown.  
"Yeah, H'neybee?"  
Cas moaned, and, firmly pressing their mouths together, pushed Dean down on his back.  
Dean's cock twitched in his jeans. Cas was strong!  
Stradling Dean's hips, Cas sat up and took in the man beneath him.

Opening his eyes was hard. He was blissed out to the max, wanting nothing more than to cuddle with Cas.  
"Cas... C'mere... wanna hold you..." Dean slurred.  
A soft chuckle sounded, and Cas' warmth crawled upwards.  
Arms slid into place, soft hair tickled his chin.  
"Yeah... That's it. Love you, Cas..." he murmured as he slipped away.  
On the edge of sensation he caught the soft gasp, the sweet kiss on his chest and the whispered: "Love you too, Dean. So, so much..."

"Dean... Dean, wake up."  
Scrunging his eyes shut, Dean growled.  
"Oh my... you're an angry sleeper, aren't you? Like a bear." Cas sounded amused for some reason.  
The warmth covering him moved, got up.  
"Nmhm. Don' wanna. Gimme back."  
This time Cas chuckled, and he sounded further off.  
"I know, Dean, but I'm getting cold. We should take this upstairs."  
That woke him up.

His eyes flew open, and he blinked furiously.  
Cas was sitting next to him, a smile on his cute face. And he was buck naked... as was Dean himself.  
"Oh... oh! Right... we went there, didn't we?"  
More chuckles, as Cas was picking up assorted clothes.  
"Yes, we did."  
Those blue eyes darted to his.  
"Do you want to continue?"

Dean gulped. If the sex had been real... then...  
"Did... did I say something? Y' know... after?"  
Cas tilted his head, and sat back down.  
"You mean that point where you said you loved me?"  
Dean breathed out.  
"Ok... that was... ok. You ok with that? Because I... I do, y' know... love you..."

Cas ruffled Dean's hair with a smile.  
"Yes. I know, Dean. I love you too. I told you, but you might have missed that, on account of you falling asleep."  
Dean grinned awkwardly.  
"I think I did catch that, but I wondered if that was real, or wishfull thinking."  
Cas pecked a chaste kiss on his nose and got up.  
"Real, Dean. It was real. Want to come to bed? It's bound to be warmer..."  
Goosebumps were speckling his arms, and Dean realised that, yes, he was very chilly.  
"Coming!" he said and grabbed whatever clothing Cas had left.

They crawled under the blue comforter on Cas' bed.  
Dean plastered himself to Cas' side.  
"Let's warm up." he grumbled to Cas chest.  
Cas chuckled and snuggled down, nuzzling Dean's hair.  
"Let's do exactly that." he said.  
They lay in comfortable silence for a while, until Dean let out a happy sigh.  
"Are you ok, Dean?" Cas whispered, hand petting Dean's head.  
"Yeah... it's just that I haven't cuddled like this in ages... years actually."  
Cas just cuddled him closer.  
"That's fine by me, Dean. I'm a cuddlebuddle myself."  
Heaving another content sigh, Dean allowed sleep to take him once more.

His blanket was heavy, and moving lightly up and down.  
Something was also tickling his ear.  
Dean opened his eyes, frowning at the light. It was different... more blue hued than green.  
"Mmmmmm. Dean... tell me I don't have to get up."  
That was Cas' gravelly voice... and it vibrated in his own chest.  
Gulping, Dean turned his head to find the soft, dark tresses of Cas' hair tickle his cheek.  
Last night came crashing back, and Dean had to heave a heavy breath.  
"Dean? Are you allright?" the voice of his lover grumbled, sounding more awake now.

His lover... Cas was his lover, and Dean's chest glowed with that realisation.  
"Mmm. I'm ok, Cas." he rumbled back, running his hand through the soft locks.  
"I could get used to waking up like this."  
Cas hummed and cuddled closer, arm slung right over Dean's chest. Dean ran his hand over the inked wing.  
"Cas?"  
Cas hummed more, not opening his eyes.  
"You wanna tell me about the wings?"

That got his attention.  
Cas raised his head, and locked his cerulean eyes on Dean's veridian.  
"No... not quite yet."  
Disappointed, Dean kept stroking the black feathers.  
"Why not?" he wondered aloud.  
Cas sighed, his breath ghosting over bare flesh and making Dean get goosebumps.  
"Because you might get angry with me, and I am way too happy right now."

"Why would I get angry? This happened way before we ever met."  
Cas sighed. "No it didn't."  
Dean blinked in confusion and looked closer at the wing.  
"Cas, you're fucking with me, right? That ink is at least a decade old..."  
Pressing his face in the crook of his neck, Castiël nodded.  
"Sixteen years old." he softly mumbled against Dean's skin.  
So that meant as soon as he was a legal adult.

Dean pulled back and lifted Cas' chin with one finger.  
"Honeybee... what? Then how is it after we met? I'd remember you, even if we only met at... what would that be? Work? Or before that... Highschool?"  
Again Cas nodded mutely.  
"Castiël Novak. I would remember those eyes. I'm sure of it."  
Cas stubbornly squared his jaw.  
"Please, Cas... please? I know I wasn't all that at highschool, even if I thought I was... Did I do something to hurt you?"

Cas quietly gasped, and his eyes hardened.  
"Don't. Don't say that about yourself! You didn't hurt me. Just the opposite. You gave me solace when I was hurt... Be proud of who you are, because you're the only you there is."  
The last bit came out on a whisper, but Dean was instantly taken back to that dreary day in highschool.

 **He'd been wandering the halls during studytime, when he saw a hunched up little ball of human under the stairs. He'd squated down, noting that the kid was a boy, and close to breaking. He was wearing his PE kit and the lanky frame made it look too big.  
"Hey there buddy. Are you ok?" he'd asked, a bit worried.  
The kid had raised his head, and Dean'd seen the most beautiful eyes ever. Deep blue, and radiating misery. His pink lips had opened, but the kid didn't speak.  
"I'm talking to you, kid. You look miserable, to be honest."**

 **The boy had nodded his darkhaired head.  
Dean'd thought he had to be a freshman, and the bullies in that year were harsh!  
Finally, the boy had spoken, his voice choked and quiet.  
"I am. The boys in my class pick on me. My clothes are wrong, I like the wrong music and I'm weird..."  
Dean's heart had ached. Here was a beautiful boy, who seemed like a sweet soul just like Sammy, and the bullies were trying to break him.  
His temper had started to rise, but he kept it locked up.  
Comfort was what the boy needed, so that's what Dean would do.**

 **He'd slid under the stairs and sat next to the kid.  
"Screw them, huh. You are you. They don't matter. I don't like to listen to all those bleach blonde sexbombs that croon about love either. I'm into AC/DC, and Metallica."  
He had known his reputation kept him, and by extention Sammy, safe from the bullies. Maybe it could help this poor guy too.  
"So what? Doesn't make me less than others. Those bullies? Don't mind them, be yourself and if they corner you, punch their lights out. If they still bother you, tell them Dean Winchester hates bullies, and he will come after them."**

 **He'd seen how the boy's deep blue eyes grew wider, and he was gaping at Dean.  
Of course! He didn't know who Dean was... Well, that would be easily remedied.  
"That's me, by the way, Dean Winchester. So. You dry those pretty eyes, buddy, and be proud of who you are. 'Cause you're the only you there is."  
As soon as the words had left his mouth, Dean had groaned internally.  
How sappy could he be? To hide his inner turmoil, Dean had clapped his hand on the smaller shoulder and crawled from under the stairs.**

Dean gulped, rubbing the ink absentmindedly.  
"That was you? The kid in PE kit, hiding under the stairs?"  
Cas sighed and turned those blue eyes up, clearly troubled.  
How had Dean not seen that? They were exactly how he remembered them.  
Except this was the first time Cas had looked at him with such misery filled eyes since then.


	21. Chapter 21

"Angel... no... don't. I always wondered if you were ok. Dad pulled Sammy and me from school a week later and we moved to Iowa, so I never heard whether you'd further been bullied or not."  
Cas hugged him closer, eyes now staring blankly in space.  
"Bartholomew tried to corner me two weeks later... I just lost it. I was so scared, but your words came to my mind and I swung. Turned out dear old Bart had a glass jaw. He went down like a poled ox. No-one dared touch me after that."  
He moved around and looked Dean straight in his eyes, blue eyes proud and determined.  
"I became my own person, and helped out those who were bullied. I kept doing that until I finished college."

"Then how did a metalhead turn corporate? I swear I would never had thought you would surprise me like that." Dean wondered.  
Cas chuckled low, and finally a smile formed.  
"Gabriel... he'd found me this job, but he insisted I change my looks, or they wouldn't hire me. Clients are finicky, Dean. They trust me on my immaculate suit and blue tie, hardly on my skills. Should I turn up Monday, wearing this... I'd lose half my portfolio."  
Dean chuckled too, imagining his metalhead sweetheart waltzing up the office, full black attire, earrings and all.  
"Marley would have kittens! She'd have security on you so fast, it'd make your head spin."  
Cas burst out laughing.  
"Yes, she would!"

Dean hugged Cas closer.  
"So, you're telling me you got inked up, just because some random kid comforted you, way back when?"  
Nodding, Cas snuggled down.  
"Yes. Your kind words and offer to go after any bully who'd touch me, set me free. Made me spread my wings and fly."  
Tapping the chain in his lover's ear, Dean hummed.  
"Never would've thought it, angel. I always thought I was unremarkable. One of the many testosterone driven, tiny God-complexed pubescent zitfaces."

Cas slapped his belly.  
"Don't downtalk yourself. You were the only one who cared enough to even try and comfort a lonely, oddball of a kid."  
Dean kissed the dark locks.  
"Now don't you downtalk yourself either, angel... You were special. I could tell that from looking in your eyes."  
He locked his green ones on Cas' blue.  
"Your eyes are amazing. Beautiful, and soulfull. Caring. Like Alfie said: too much heart."

A blush crept up Castiël's face and Dean pulled him close.  
"You're an angel, just like your brother said. And now you're mine..."  
He chuckled as a thought struck him.  
"Does that make you my guardian angel? Keeping me safe and stuff?"  
Cas smiled against his neck.  
"I took that task on once, and it worked out ok, so why not?"

Dean frowned at that.  
"What now? When did you do that?"  
Cas wriggled uncomfortably.  
"If I tell you, can we take a shower after? I need to wake up and shut my mouth."  
Weighing the options, Dean nodded slowly.  
"Last story for now. Geez, feels like you've been around all the time, and I never noticed."  
That got a chuckle and a kiss to his neck.  
"Not according to Gabriel. I heard him call you out on ogling my behind."

Chuckling, Dean shook his head.  
"True, but no changing the subject, angel."  
It was amazing how easy the bantering was, and how they could just cuddle, without it turning into something hotter.  
Cas hummed softly, unwilling to get back to said subject.  
"C'mon, Cas. Tell me how you took on being my guardian angel... don't say it was before when I think we met again. I'm pretty sure my childhood was not wrought with dangerous situations."

Cas' warm breath huffed over his pects in a quiet laugh.  
"No. It was just last December. I noticed how you were different, during your song. Not as animated. Your smile was a mask, not shining like it's supposed to. So, I thought it prudent to make sure you got home ok. I was about to leave, when you reappeared, duffelbag around your shoulders. When you walked off, you seemed so..."  
Dean cut in, repeating what Jody had told him all those weeks back.  
"...lost and heartbroken. You called it in. You got Jody to pick me up."

The whispered "Yes." was so soft, Dean nearly missed it.  
"Oh, Cas. I wasn't about to kill myself. Honestly I wasn't."  
Cas' eyelashes tickled as he rapidly blinked.  
"Dean, you left home. You were obviously running away, in a blizzard."  
Pressing a soft, consoling kiss on Cas' brow, Dean hummed.  
"True, but it was all planned, months in advance. Except for the frikken blizzard. That caught me off guard. I parked Baby at Bobby's. Bobby dropped me off at West Jordon Circle, and I rode to Nomed with... her."  
He noticed how he couldn't say Lisa's name, or 'home', because the house at West Jordon had never felt like home, not really.  
He looked at Cas, whose eyes were moist. 'He must've been so scared. If he felt then like he does now.'

"Cas... I knew what she was. I've known since May. I wanted to bolt there and then, but Sam talked sense into me. I spent all those months preparing to get out smoothly."  
Cas fretted, eyes on the hand over Dean's pect.  
"But... the baby? How... how do you know it's not yours... and why did you even... if.."  
Smoothing the ruffled hair of his lover, Dean thought how to put this.  
He decided on blunt and simple.  
"I'm very sure it is not mine. Not 100%, but I seem to be infertile or something, because we tried for ages, before... Well. And after? I could hardly stand having her touch me, but to keep the peace, I sometimes did put out. I tried to keep it risk free, you know."  
He could feel Cas cringe.  
"I'm sorry, angel. I'll shut up now."

Cas kissed his chest sweetly.  
"I could smite her ass for hurting you so deeply."  
Dean chuckled without mirth.  
"She didn't, babe. She didn't."  
The glare from the cerulean eyes said Cas didn't believe him.  
"Dean, you can't say her name. You walked off into a blizzard for fuck's sake! The bitch hurt you, and I can't ever undo that."  
Biting his lip to not let his feelings spill, Dean kissed him into silence.  
"Cas... baby, Honeybee, angel... You don't have to... you're soothing the pain by just being you. Don't go there. Come... let's shower!"


	22. Chapter 22

**A.N. In the original, this chapter had some... pretty hot stuff going. Since FFN doesn't want that to be published here (and I respect that) I clipped some stuff and made a new chapter of it. If you want the forbidden fruits, it's on AO3. Same alias, same title. Love you**

oooOooo oooOooo oooOooo

After their shower they went downstairs, made breakfast and ate, hands touching, eyes smiling, mouths quirking around bites.  
They were doing the dishes, Dean slapping Cas' ass softly, Cas pinching Dean's, when Cas' phone binged.  
He dried his hands, ruffled Deans hair affectionately and checked the message.  
Smirking, Cas showed it to Dean.

Received 10.25 am Gabriel:  
Dude!   
What happened to you?   
I was at the bar yesterday, and Alfie told me you left already.   
At TEN THIRTY?! Are you ill? Or injured?  
Let dear old Dean-o give you chickensoup if you're ill, and let him kiss your boo-boo if you're injured.  
Your loving big bro.

"Hmmmm." Dean crooned. "Ohhh. Does that mean you hurt your..."  
Cas slapped his biceps playfully.  
"Dean Winchester, you have got a dirty mind." he chided with twinkling eyes.  
Dean chuckled, then kissed him on the mouth.  
"They do say that it's a joy forever..." he quipped.

Cas shook his head and typed an answer.  
"There. Now, let's get to work... I have to leave for the bar at twelve fifteen."  
Dean slung the teatowel around Cas' hips and pulled his boyfriend in.  
"Mmmm. Then we got plenty of time, hotshot."  
He curled his tongue around the silver earrings, causing a shiver to run down Cas' spine.  
"Dean..." he gasped. "Dishes... we can... play... later."  
With a pout Dean let go.  
"Spoilsport." he groused, but his lips quirked up.

When the dishes were done, Cas wanted to get dressed for work.  
Leaping up the stairs two at a time, Dean followed.  
He shoved Cas against the wall and kissed him until he got woozy from lack of oxygen.  
"Dean..." Cas tried, pulling at his wrists, which Dean had trapped against the wall.  
"Nuh-uh angel... You promised we would play..." Dean mumbled against his neck, nibbling softly.  
Cas groaned. "Dean... I... you.. uhn."  
Dean licked a stripe up that slender neck.  
"You looked so adorably sexy, fully concentrated on typing that message. I got a boner just watching your face."

Cas rolled his head back, giving Dean more space.  
Dean nuzzled under Cas' earlobe, meanwhile giving little open mouthed kisses on his neck.  
"D..Dean... you... uhnn... you play dirty."  
Dean chuckled low, then gently took the lobe with silver earrings between his teeth and pulled slightly.  
Cas gasped and bucked his hips.  
"I know... ain't it fun, angel?" Dean whispered in his ear.  
"Yes." Cas answered, breathless.

Dean softly bit down on the crook of Cas' neck, and Cas cried out.  
"AH! Dean!"  
Dean pushed away at that, and pecked Cas on the cheek.  
"Good. Now get dressed." he said, turning to walk out of the room.  
Cas stood there, panting, flushed cheeks and angry, angry eyes.  
"Dean Winchester! You utter, utter... assbutt!"  
Dean threw his head back and laughed, elated.  
"Love you too, angel." he sing-songed and ducked as a ball of socks flew over his head.

When Cas came back downstairs, he glared at Dean, who sat on the sofa, reading a book.  
"What?" Dean asked innocently.  
Cas said nothing, but snatched the book out of Dean's hands.  
"Hey... I was reading that." Dean objected half hearted.  
Cas gave him a smiteworthy glare, and something stirred with Dean.  
"You've made me angry, Dean. You might not like me angry." Cas growled, and Dean shivered.

Cas narrowed his eyes at that.  
"Hm. What to do with you..." he mused, standing over Dean like an avenging angel.  
"You left me with a situation, Dean."  
He indicated his crotch, where a bulge was very visible.  
"I cannot go to work with this."  
His glare hardened, and Dean gulped as his cock twitched.  
"Solve this, Dean. Or I will be very displeased."

He clasped his hands behind his back, feet apart, towering over Dean.  
Dean licked his lips as he looked up through his lashes.  
"W... would you like me to.. to blow you, Cas?"  
An eyebrow quirked, and Dean quickly looked down.  
"I... I meant sir... would you like me to b...blow you, sir?"  
A quick glance upward showed him Cas, licking his pink lips in thought.  
"I believe that will suffice, Dean."


	23. Chapter 23

"Dean... Dean... wake up, please... Dean."  
Dean hummed, trying to get his brain in gear.  
Cas sounded worried, he should see what was wrong.  
"C's?" His mouth didn't work right.  
"Oh thank the stars! You're ok... you scared me, Dean. You passed out on me."  
Struggling to get up, Dean hummed.  
Cas threw himself on Dean, hugging him tightly.  
"Not funny, Dean..."

Dean smiled, senses starting to return.  
"I'm cool, Cas. Honestly..."  
Cas rubbed his head against Dean, before standing up.

"What did I do to deserve you, Dean Winchester?" he sighed happily.  
"Dunno. If you can tell me what I did to deserve you, Castiël Novak, my angel of the dark wings." Dean replied, while he pressed a kiss to Cas' belly.  
Cas grabbed the quilt from under the sidetable and tucked Dean in.  
"You stay here, Dean. Rest up, drink fluids. And later we can discuss things."

Dean smiled softly. He never liked to be mothered, but now, it felt awesome, like a reward.  
"Thanks, Cas." he said low.  
"Anything for you, my Dean. I am sorry to have to love and leave, but my double shift at the bar starts in fifteen minutes. When I get home, I will give you a massage, ok?"  
Dean neatly melted at that prospect.  
"You're too good for me, Cas."  
Cas hummed and kissed him sweetly.  
"No. You are just perfect. Love you."  
Dean felt his heart would explode.  
"Love you too, angel. Have a good shift."  
Cas kissed him again and left.

Later, Dean got sweet little lovenotes via text. All day long.  
Wondering at them, Dean cooked himself dinner.  
Cas never texted him this much... must be the new road their relation had taken.  
Every bing of his phone, made Dean light up.  
He decided to pamper himself and took a long, hot bath.  
When he got back down, his phone showed three new texts from Cas.  
Each as sweet as the next.  
Crawling back under the quilt, Dean decided to wait up for Cas.  
But the warmth of the bath had made him drowsy, and the little cocoon the quilt provided, had him slip to Neverland in no time flat.

"Hello, handsome..."  
Dean grumbled and snuggled deeper into his warm cocoon.  
"Dean... oh my.. you're sexy when you sleep."  
The want in Cas' gravelly voice woke Dean more.  
"Cas... hmmm. What time is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.  
Cas sat on the edge of the sofa, watching him with adoring eyes.  
"Whoa.. heart eyes. Sexy..." Dean smiled.  
"It's two fifteen. Are you still up for that massage, or would you rather go to bed." Cas answered.  
Scratching his head, Dean yawned.  
"Bed it is, Dean. I can massage you tomorrow. Come. I want to cuddle."  
He reached for Dean, who gladly grabbed those slender hands and pulled Cas in.

They hugged, and kissed, and nuzzled eachother's neck.  
Dean inhaled that fresh, oceany scent and he felt the weight of the world leave his shoulders.  
"Mmm Cas. Glad you're home, angel."  
Cas hugged him tighter and sighed contently.  
"Me too, Dean. Me too."  
Placing one hand on the back of Cas' head, Dean closed his eyes.  
"Dean! Don't fall asleep on me..." Cas chuckled, and Dean jerked awake.  
"Sorry, angel. I guess it really is bed time, huh?"  
Cas smiled against his neck and nodded.  
They got up and Cas lead the way upstairs, Dean ogling his ass as they walked the stairs.

Cas grabbed Dean's hand and pulled him into the blue room.  
"I want to wake up next to you, Dean. Do you mind?"  
Feeling all warm and gooey, Dean shook his head.  
"Nah. Feel the same way, angel."  
He crawled under the covers and watched his boyfriend undress.  
"One day, Novak, you will give me a striptease. You have a natural grace that is sexy as fuck. I want to see that body move to the music."  
Cas blushed happily as he crawled in next to Dean.  
"Hmm. I'd love to. But not now, huh? I'm tired and sleepy. And you are halfway off to sleep."  
He pulled Dean close and arranged him to lie with his head to Cas' chest, where the steady thud of Cas' heartbeat lulled him to sleep.


	24. Chapter 24

The next morning, Dean woke to an empty bed.  
His heart sunk and he curled himself in a ball, hugging himself.  
Of course Cas was getting tired of him. He was too easy. A pushover.  
He didn't deserve an angel like Cas.  
His thoughts ran in a loop of self depreciation and tears stung in the corners of his eyes.

The door swooshed open, but Dean didn't hear it.  
"Hey... Dean.. What's wrong love?" Cas sounded concerned.  
Oh great, now he was worrying Cas.  
Dean curled in tighter. "N'thin'" he grumbled.  
Cas lovingly peeled the blankets from his still form.  
"It's not nothing, Dean. I'm here. I brought breakfast... it's Sunday, and Samandriël has taken todays shift. I'm off until Monday." he softly said, stroking Dean's hair from his face.

Dean looked up at Cas, wanting to tell him he wasn't hungry.  
His stomach was knotted and he felt awfull.  
Cas was staring down at him with a sweet smile.  
Dean saw the love and care in those blue eyes and slowly uncurled himself.  
"But Cas..." he started, only to have one of those slender fingers pressed down on his lips.  
"Shush, Dean. "  
A sweet kiss to his brow warmed his heart, and he closed his eyes.

Cas indicated to the bedside table where a tray stood, bearing in tea, orange juice, croissants and toast.  
"Now eat up, my love. I want to give you that massage and take a lazy bath with you."

Dean's insides tingled at the prospect, but first his stomach growled.  
Cas chuckled and passed over the tray.  
Patting the bed, Dean indicated Cas to join him, which he did with a grin.  
"You couldn't keep me away, Winchester." he said, as he slid between the sheets.

Later, still warm and rosy from the hour long bath they took, they cuddled together on the sofa.  
Cas was absentmindedly combing his fingers through Dean's hair while reading and Dean was playing a game on his phone.  
"Cas..." Dean suddenly said.  
He waited until Cas had lowered his book.  
"What's wrong, Dean?"  
"I wondered... did you know I'm bi, or did you just guess?"

Cas put the book away and resumed combing through Dean's hair.  
"I knew. Remember that you and Gabe were at the bar when you told him..."  
Dean remembered and he started to chuckle.  
"That devious little imp... That's why he raised his voice so much. To make sure you heard."  
Cas nodded, still carding his hair.  
"He knew I liked you." Cas admitted low.  
"So he set us up, didn't he?" Dean said, a bit of wonder in his voice.  
"I guess he did." Cas admitted. "But Dean... did you know I'm gay, or..."

Dean blushed deeply, dipping his head.  
"I... hoped you like guys. I never really knew you, you know. At Nomed, we spoke that one time, on the parking lot, but you sounded sick, and were wrapped in that scarf. I credited the odd retreat on that. After that, I only saw you from a distance, or from the back. And at the bar... You were working, and I was too chickenshit to try and find out more about you. I didn't even know that was you, to be honest. Cause I never really saw your face at Nomed."  
Fidgeting with his phone, Dean continued.  
"And then Gabe got me to move in here, and I... UGH. Things clicked when I saw you in your work clothes. I kinda had a crush on you already. I never saw signs of a girl in your life. So I just hoped, and tried to be friends, in case it didn't work out. When we went to see the band, and you looked so sexy and relaxed, I got drunk because I realised my crush had passed into love territory."

Cas chuckled and pressed a cute kiss on the very top of his head.  
"Aw, Dean... you're a cute drunk. Go on..." he invited.  
Dean licked his lips and sighed.  
"You were being so sweet to me, and cute to Alfie..."  
Cas smirked. "His name is Samandriël. So, you **were** jealous!"  
Cheeks flaming, Dean cleared his throat.  
"Yeah. Kinda... anyway, you were so cute and sweet and caring, and it kinda reminded me of that dream I head, after we'd drank all that JW blue. You were drunk and tried to carry me up to bed, but you slipped and... we fell on the sofa. I said something about your eyes and you... you kissed me."

Cas' fingers had stilled, and his hands were now resting on Dean's shoulders.  
"And you kissed me back. We kept kissing for a while... until we just snuggled on the sofa, saying to eachother that it was nice..." he finished. "Dean... I dreamed that too... so maybe..."  
Dean turned and stared at him, processing this new info.  
"Maybe it wasn't a dream... but, Cas, how did I end up in my own bed, alone?"  
Frowning, Cas rubbed his mouth.  
"I was wondering the exact same thing. All I can remember was falling asleep, thinking this would be a great way to wake up, but when I did, I was in my bed, alone."  
Something from that day clicked in Dean's mind and he sat up.  
"It was that snowstorm... Sam and Gabe..."


	25. Chapter 25

As if saying their names had been a summoning spell, the scullery door flew open and Gabe dashed in, followed in a more sedate way by Sam.  
"Morning guys! Thought we'd... are we interupting something?" Gabe asked, head tilted.  
Sam chuckled and pushed past him to hug his brother and clap Cas on the shoulder.  
"Shut up, Gabe. Hi guys. Gabe and I wanted to see that Castiël's vacation went out with a bang."  
Gabriel shrewdly eyed their position on the sofa and smirked.  
"Are we too late for that?" he asked innocently.

Dean narrowed his eyes at the manipulative little guy and didn't say a word.  
Cas merely raised an eyebrow and smoothly changed the subject.  
"No, but you have impeccable timing. We were wondering what happened the night of the big blizzard."  
Sam looked at Gabriel, who full on grinned and launched into the story.  
"Well, for starters, my Beetle didn't start, so I started walking. I was well on my way to freezing my toes off, when Sam-a-lam here pulls up and orders me to 'get in you damned fool, or you'll get frostbite on your ass.' I barely got warmed up, when his fancy-schmancy car dies too. Then you two knuckleheads don't answer our texts, so we decided to get overhere before we turn into two sexy snowmen. By the way, Sammich, did I ever tell you I'm glad you're so tall? He got that spare key in no time!"

Sam smiled and ducked his head, trying to hide his blush.  
Gabe winked at him and rambled on.  
"Imagine the shock we get when we step into the room! You two were out cold, an almost empty bottle of grade A booze next to you. Looked cozy too, didn't they, Samshine?"  
Chuckling, Sam nodded.  
"Yeah... Cas, you were clinging to Dean like an octopus, but you, Dean, you were about as bad. We had to physically pry your arm from around Cas' shoulders before we could hoist you up. You were slurring that it was nice and warm. Oh, and you kept telling me you loved me."

Dean facepalmed, not believing his bad luck. Of all the things to happen... If their brothers hadn't interfered, he and Cas could've been together weeks before.  
"Yeah, and Cassie, pal, I know I'm an amazing big brother, but I'm not one for smooches from you. Others may smooch me all they want." Gabriel gast a quick glance at Sam, who smiled and ducked his head.  
"But not you, ok. You're one affectionate drunk, baby brother!"  
Looking up through his lashes, Dean saw Cas blush furiously.  
"Can I just die right away?" Dean groaned, hiding in his palms.  
"No. No way, Dean. We will face this together... This is most embarrassing!" Cas added, copying Dean's move.  
Sam and Gabe, the bastards, burst out in hearty guffaws.

Having their brothers hanging out, wasn't exactly what Dean had thought would happen today, but he was pretty ok with it.  
Gabe and Sam were awesome guys, and the four of them had a ball, every time.  
Today, Gabe came bearing gifts.  
"Cassie, Sam and I popped over at oma's before coming over. Look what she got from Auntie Gemma."  
He produced a sealed paper bag, seemingly out of thin air.  
Cas grinned and decided that was on the menu for tonight.

Dean was a bit apprehensive.  
Bearing the pannenkoeken dinner in mind, he pulled Cas aside in the kitchen.  
"Cas... is this something like pannenkoeken?" he asked in hushed tones.  
Cas beamed at him, before checking the fridgefor ingredients.  
"It is the same batter, only for poffertjes, we will need the special skillet."  
He turned his head and shouted towards the livingroom.  
"Gabriel! We are low on both eggs and milk!"

Gabe shouted an affermative and soon he strode past, pulling a struggling Sam along.  
"Don't worry, brother. Sammoose and I will provide. Need butter and powdered sugar too?"  
Cas hummed, while Sam shot a flustered Dean a pleading look.  
"Better bring some, Gabriel. Thank you."  
Gabe gave the two fingered salute and dragged Sam further to the scullery.  
"But Gabe... I really..." Sam protested.  
Gabe shit him up by kissing him on the lips.  
Blushing like a neonsign, Sam followed Gabriel willingly.

"Huh... did you see that coming, Dean?" Cas asked, once their brothers had left.  
Dean scratched behind his ear and chuckled awkwardly.  
"Kinda... I saw they were interested in eachother... Had to talk Sam out of a 'oh-God-am-I-gay' freakout about it." he admitted.  
Cas nodded, then smirked.  
"Do you think they know about us?"  
Dean smiled too, then kissed those sweet lips.  
"Don't know, angel, but it will bring different family dynamics once we all get how serious we are with eachother."

Cas placed both his hands on Dean's hips and pulled him closer.  
"Are you serious about us, Dean?" he asked softly, looking up at him through those thick lashes.  
Heart glowing, Dean looked down into those blue eyes and sighed happily.  
"Like a heartattack, Cas. I'm never letting this go."  
He hugged Cas close and kissed him.  
Cas opened his mouth with a sigh and Dean slipped his tongue in, revelling in the fact that this was so easy now.  
Cas never turned his head away, claiming 'it wasn't the best of timing', nor did he push Dean away. He always gave him at least a peck.

Lisa had done both from the get-go, and Dean had been hurt every time.  
"Dean... Dean? Are you ok?" Cas asked, tilting his head in that puppydog way.  
Dean smiled warmly and pulled him back in.  
"Aces, Cas."  
Cas smiled and booped his nose.  
"Ok. Then let's get ready to make poffertjes. They are not as easy as pancakes, but we got time."  
After kissing Cas on the temple, Dean let go.  
"Allright, chef, what's the plan?" he said enthousiastically.

When the scullery door banged open, Dean didn't even look up.  
He was examining the 'poffertjespan'. A kind of skillet, with round dents in it.  
"Hey, Dean-o! Don't tell me **you** will be making these nommy babies." Gabriel called, dropping two bags on the breakfast bar.  
"Gabriel... I needed eggs and milk... Maybe sugar and butter. What in the Universe have you bought?"  
Gabe started unpacking with a grin, while Sam just sat down and shook his head.  
"Lemme see... eggs, check. Milk, check. Butter, check. Powdered sugar..."  
He pulled out three containers. "...check. Then... icecream... vanilla, check. Pecan, check. Chunky monkey, check. Rocky road... check. And for my Sammykins... Moosetracks!"  
He pulled out the last carton with a flourish and plonked it in front of Sam.  
Sam hid his face with his giant hand, but Dean knew he was blushing happily and grinning like a bobcat.

"I guess you wanted to be sure we had dessert, huh, brother?" Cas said sarcastically, picking up the Moosetracks.  
"Pretty much, but the other bag is full of fruits and veggies." Gabe admitted.  
He shuddered theatrically and pushed it away with one finger.  
"Don't be such a baby, Gabe." Sam said, corners of his mouth still curled up.  
"I'm making a fruit salad. I will eat the icecream, but with a side of fruit." he claimed proudly.  
Cas chuckled and pulled the second bag closer to peer in it.  
"Ooh! Mango? And pears, and pineapple! Mmmm, Sam, mind if I ask you to make me some too?" he asked, throwing in a puppy look.  
"EW! Cassie! I'm ashamed to call you my brother!" Gabe yelped.  
Sam smiled warmly and told Cas of course.  
Breathing a happy sigh, Dean sat down on a stool and smiled.  
Life was pretty good.


	26. Chapter 26

Dean cussed up a blue streak, when he bumped his head on the hood of an old Ford.  
His phone rang, and that never happened for a good reason.  
Rubbing his head and still muttering darkly under his breath, he went to pick it up.  
"Dean-o?" came a familiar voice, but Dean had never heard it this anxious before.  
"Gabe? Buddy, what's wrong?"

Gabe took a deep breath, seemingly to calm him down.  
"Dean.. it's Castiël."  
Red flags instantly started waving in Dean's mind. Gabe never used Cas' full name, unless it was bad. Than much he had learned from Cas already.  
"What happened? Is Cas ok?" Dean rattled the sentences off like a Tommy gun.  
"I don't know, but he left before the end of the day, and... when I called him, he was playing that horribly depressing song he only plays when shit has happened. I'm still stuck here. Got a goddamn meeting with Crowley."

Despite the worry speeding through him like a NASCAR racer, Dean couldn't help but ask.  
"Face to face? Really?"  
Gabriel scoffed and Dean could picture his pal's face perfectly. Scrunged up nose, curled up lip...  
"No, you knucklehead. Video conference, but I need an office background, don't I? Backlighting, no way he sees my face. You check on Castiël, ok?"  
Dean agreed and shoved his phone in his pocket.  
"Bobby. Gotta make a quick call, then I'll finish the Ford." he called.  
Bobby waved a hand, but didn't say anything.

Cas picked up on the fifth ring.  
"Dean? Is everything allright?"  
Dean could hear it in his voice. Cas was **not** ok.  
"I'm ok, Cas. Just wanted to say I'll be home soon. Almost done here. Shall I take care of dinner?"  
Cas sighed and in the background Dean could hear soft guitar music.  
"If you please could. I fear I might burn things today."  
That was his cue. Dean sighed inaudibaly.  
"Did something happen, angel? You do sound tired..."

Cas didn't answer, and Dean could hear a heavy riff tear from the stereo.  
"Cas?"  
A soft sound, like Cas tried to speak, but then didn't.  
"Ok then. I will see you soon. Burgers sound ok? I'll make them myself."  
Now it sounded like a sob, causing Dean to internally curse the crap Ford to Hell and back.  
He wanted to be home **now** to hug Cas and make sure he was ok.

Still Cas didn't answer, and the music got just that tad louder, making Dean sure Cas was crying and he had turned the sound up to hide it.  
"Cas... I'm leaving right now, ok. I'm done here."  
A faint "ok" could barely be heard and Dean bit back a curse as he disconnected.  
Fuck the Ford. It could wait. His angel was in trouble.  
"Bobby! I'm off. Crap piece of Ford got transmission problems, and I got word that I should check on Cas."  
Bobby tipped his cap back and looked at Dean.  
"Well? Why are ye still hanging around? Git!"  
God, Dean loved the old coot!

He gunned the Impala as much as he dared, going steadily over the speedlimit.  
He left her on the driveway, engine clicking softly from being run hot in such a short drive.  
"I'm sorry, Baby. I'll take you on a long drive Saturday. Cas needs me."  
He all but ran inside, hurridly shoving his shoes in the closet and hanging his jacket up sloppilly.  
"Hey, angel. I'm home..." he said, like his heart wasn't trying to make a bid for freedom through his chest.  
Cas was curled up on the sofa, hugging a cushion and hiding his face. It reminded Dean of how Cas had hidden under the stairs in highschool.  
His hair was in worse disarray than ever, and he didn't even look up. The stereo was still playing the same music. It seemed Cas had it on repeat.  
"Interesting music. Bit melancholy. Who is it?" Dean ventured, skirting on the safe side of conversation.

Finally looking up, Cas answered with a quiet voice.  
"Demons and Wizards. It's from their debutalbum. I... I usually listen to it to make me aware that there is evil unmentionable out there... To make me feel better..."  
Taking in the red rimmed eyes, the blotchy cheeks and the strained voice, Dean drew a conclusion.  
"Not working today, Honeybee?"  
Squeezing his eyes shut, Cas shook his head miserably.  
Sitting down next to him, Dean cupped Cas' cheek lovingly.

"Tell me, angel. Maybe I can help."  
Cas looked up at him, and Dean wanted to punch something, hard. Those blue eyes were the same that had caught him so many years back, under those stairs. Filled with untold misery.  
"I can't, Dean... she'll..."  
Rage spiked, when Dean heard the rough voice shatter like fragile glass.  
He drew another conclusion.  
"Lisa. What did that bitch do?"  
Cas made a dispairing noise and hid in the cushion again, but Dean wasn't having it.  
"Cas, she has no rights here. Never had, never will have. Angel, please... I hate seeing you like this."

Cas peered over the cushion, looking at Dean's eyes. Apparently he saw something, because he drew a shuddering breath and finally sat up straighter.  
"Lisa came to me after the midday coffeebreak. She cornered me, and hissed at me to keep my filthy, faggot hands off her boyfriend."  
Bile rose in Dean's throat at the slur.  
"Damnit... I'm sorry, babe... but... how did she know?" he wondered.  
Cas smiled wryly, no humour in sight.  
"She said Lilith saw me ogling you, while you were helping Ash out. I never saw Lilith there, but I did have my eyes on you most of the time... I guess Lilith drew her own conclusions."

Dean sighed, not able to fathom the way those women's minds worked.  
"Nothing happened there... I was too scared of my own feelings, so I got drunk. And you just patiently helped me home."  
Smirking, Dean recalled what happened once they got home.  
"Besides, angel... I'm not hers anymore. She has no say in my life whatsoever."  
He brought his lips next to Cas' ear, breath ghosting over it.  
"To be brutally honest, Castiël Novak... I'm more yours than I ever was hers."

Cas gasped, eyes wide as he looked into Dean's.  
"W... what?"  
Dean kissed him on the lips, sweet, loving, tender.  
"I said I'm more yours than I ever was hers. You got under my skin and in my very soul, Cas. I love you with a fire that makes what I thought I felt for her look like a dying ember."  
A deep blush crept up Cas' cheeks.  
"I love you too, Dean."  
Satisfied, Dean kissed him again and got up.  
"Good. Hamburgers?" he asked with a smile.  
Cas smiled back and nodded eagerly.

While Dean was waiting for the burgers to be done, he texted Gabe, saying he got Cas calmed down and all was ok.  
Within seconds, his phone rang.  
"Dean... Can he hear you? If so, just stick to the 'Uhuh' and the 'Nuh-uh'." Gabe commanded.  
Dean flipped the burgers.  
"Uhuh." he said, glancing at Cas, who was setting the table.  
"So, how about I meet you at your work tomorrow. You can tell me everything."  
Dean licked his lips. Gabe sounded like he meant business.  
"Uhuh." he intoned again, trying to not look like he was doing something skeevy.  
"Great! 10 am sharp, bucko! And bring me something sweet. I'm guessing I will need it."

Cas was looking at him, head tilted and brow furrowed.  
"Ok. See ya, Gabe." Dean said like nothing was wrong.  
Cas' frown deepened.  
"Dean, I do hope you will not partake in Gabriel's foolish pranks. One day these will get him in deep trouble."  
Taking the burgers off the grill, Dean smiled at Cas.  
"I promise I will not do that knowingly." he vowed, hand on his heart.  
Cas nodded, then kissed him.  
"Good. Now, let's eat!"


	27. Chapter 27

"WHAT?!"  
Dean winced at Gabriel's loud shout and in a reflex clapped his hand over Gabe's mouth.  
"Shush... we're still not alone here, Dude." he hissed, looking around to see Luke tilt his head in wonder, Garth raise his eyebrows and Bobby march up.  
"You boys got stuff to discuss? Take it to my office... the one inside the house, Dean."  
Gratefull, Dean nodded and pulled a fuming Gabriel along.

"Geez, Gabe. I think Jody heard it, and she has a day off, so she is on the other side of town."  
Gabriel didn't even quirk the corner of his mouth.  
He just stood there, eyes dark and brooding, brows furrowed.  
"She is so dead..." he said, voice even though strained with rage.  
"Gabriel... calm down." Dean said soothingly, but the man swiveled around eyes sparking amber fire.  
"No Dean... she threatened my baby brother... she needs to go down!"  
Stepping back involuntairily, Dean licked his lips.  
"You don't know she threatened him..."

Those amber flintstones sparked again and flicked up to his face.  
"Oh, she did, bucko. Nothing else can upset Castiël like that. Tell me... did he kiss you goodbye this morning?"  
A blush rose to Dean's cheeks so fast it felt his blood was boiling.  
"Eh, I... eh... pfff.. that is to say... Yes." he managed to wrestle through his answer.  
Gabe actually cocked his head a bit and his eyes softened a bit.  
"Really? Huh... imagine that. Anywhoos. So not the issue here. Happy you two got over your shit, don't need the details. I do need a way to get that lying, rotten piece of hellscum out of our lives."

Dean could see Gabe's internal dial rise to High Dudgeon again and he surreptiously called his brother, leaving the phone so it would catch whatever got said.  
"I'm telling you Dean... I'm this close to ripping that bitch's heart out through her throat... You don't mess with my brother. You don't mess with what's dear to me." Gabe ranted.  
"Gabe... calm down already man. She didn't hurt Cas. He was fine. Shocked, taken by surprise, but fine." Dean soothed again.  
"Nuh-uh padre. He was listening to **that** song... No way in Heaven, Hell or any of the planes was Cassie 'fine'. How did you find him? Was he lying down, sitting... what?" Gabe urged, still fired up.

Remembering how Cas had been curled up, like that frightened little kid, Dean bit down on his lip, hard.  
Gabriel took his answer from Dean's face.  
"That's what I thought. Hugging his knees like a kid, huh?"  
Dean nodded dejectedly.  
"With a cushion." he supplied softly.  
Gabriel turned around and slammed his hand on Bobby's desk.  
"FUCK!" Then he turned back to Dean. "She is dead. So dead, Dean. Don't try and stop me!"

Hearing a soft footfall on the stairs, Dean felt relief wash over him.  
"Trust me, Gabe. I won't... but I know someone who might..."  
The door opened and Sam walked in.  
"Gabe... What's wrong? I could hear you all the way upstairs!"  
Gabriel gaped at him.  
"Sam? Wh.. what are you doing here?" he managed, before getting pulled into one of Sam's bonecrushing hugs.  
"I have a day off, and Bobby asked me to help organise his stuff a bit."

Which was a blatant lie. After last night's call with Gabe, Dean had sensed a storm brewing and called in backup. He knew it was a bit low, but he also knew Sam was one of the most levelheaded guys Dean knew and he could talk feelings like a pro.  
Even now Dean could see tension leaking out of those bits of Gabriel he could see.  
"Sammy... Samshine... oh God, I'm glad you're here!l" the smaller man whispered into those massive, plaid clad pects.

"It's ok, Gabe. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Now, what got you so upset you felt the need to break your hand on that oak desk?"  
Sam turned his hazel eyes on his big brother and mouthed 'Good call. Thanks'.  
Dean mouthed back 'No problem. Ditto'.  
He was honestly shaking by now. An angry Gabriel was truely like the wrath of God coming down.  
"Sammy... that bitch, Lisa, she threatened Cassie." Gabriel was suddenly an angry little child who needed help badly.  
Sam kissed the caramel coloured hair and ran a soothing hand over it.

"Ok. That's worrying, but killing her, however tempting and permanent a solution, isn't the way to deal with it, Sugarplum. It would mean me losing you to jail. I think I might go crazy. I just got you... and I wanna keep you!"  
Gabriel hugged tighter before finally letting go.  
"Ok then, smartasses... you tell me what we're gonna do then, because I'm not letting that skank get away with this."

The proud little smirk on Sam's face did not escape Dean's attention.  
He coughed and winked at his baby brother.  
"Gabe... do what you do best." Dean offered  
That got him a double confused nose scrunge.  
"What? Eat sugary stuff and be annoying?" Gabe asked, truely off the track.  
Sam ruffled his hair affectionately.  
"I'm sure that's not what he meant, Gabe."

Chuckling, Dean relented.  
"No... I meant: get even. Manipulate, prank, use your resources."  
Sam looked even more confused now, but Gabriel lit up.  
"Oh, Dean-o! I like the way you think!"  
His golden eyes twinkled in mischief and his smile was devious.  
Sam's eyes darkened and a blush rose to his cheeks.  
Dean's eyes darted between the two, and he surreptiously placed the bag of M&Ms he got for Gabe on the desk, before sidling out of he room.  
He heard the tiny squawk Gabe gave as he walked down the hallway.

"Boy, you better make sure that idjet doesn't get himself into trouble. It would break your brother's heart."  
Dean jumped at the gruff voice.  
"Bobby... Hi. Yeah... I kinda figured that, so I got Sammy in beforehand."  
Bobby chuckled deeply, scratching his scruff.  
"You're smarter than you act, Dean. Now git. That Ford needs to be done today."  
Dean grinned widely and gave Bobby the two fingered salute.  
"Yes sir! On it!"

When he went inside to ask Sam and Gabe if they wanted lunch, Dean found them in Bobby's study, Gabe bent over a laptop.  
Gabriel was cackling and Sam looked torn between wanting to bolt and wanting to eat Gabe alive.  
Deciding that the less he knew, the better off he'd be, Dean turned to leave them alone.  
"Dean!" Sam sounded so relieved, that Dean couldn't bear to leave now.

"Hey guys! What's up?" he asked.  
Sam rolled his eyes.  
"You don't want to know... but... seeing you were the one to start this..."  
Sam gestured with his hands at Gabriel, who was clicking like mad and flipping a lollipop from left to right in his mouth.

"Hey, Gabe. Whatcha doin'?" Dean rescued his brother.  
Gabe looked up, eyes sparkling.  
"Hiya Dean-o! I'm digging. And boy does this closet have skeletons!"  
Dean swallowed back the rising bile. A lot of those skeletons were probably from when he was still with Lisa, and honestly, he didn't want to know exactly how many times she'd fucked others.

"Ok.. ok. Ex-nay on the deets, pal. Just tell me you got this."  
Gabriel cackled again and actually rubbed his hands.  
"I got this. Nothing very shocking yet, but boy are you off the hook, babywise! I'll keep digging until I find something very bad, though. She needs karma to bite her ass, big time!"  
Sam licked his lips, out of worry or something else, Dean didn't know.  
"Right. I'm getting lunch, you two want something?"  
Sam took the chance to bolt, but Gabe held up his bag of M&Ms.  
"I'm good, Dean-o! Thanks!"

As he passed Sam in the kitchen, Dean couldn't resist leaning in and whispering: "Psst. Baby brother... your shirt is inside out."  
Laughing at the undignified sound Sam made, Dean left the house to get a burger.  
He poked his head back in and said: "You might wanna tell Gabe to cover that hicky better."  
As the door slammed behind him, he heard something hit it.  
Elated he got in his Baby and drove off.


	28. Chapter 28

About a week later, Dean got an early textmessage from Gabriel.

Received at 6.03 am Gabe:  
Morning chucklehead,  
Convince babybro to hitch a ride with you.  
You NEED to pick him up today.  
And don't wait in the parkinglot.  
Get inside and enjoy the show.  
Gabe.

Puzzled, Dean pocketed his phone and went down for breakfast.  
As they ate, he broke the subject to Cas.  
"Angel... you know what I'd like to do?"  
Cas looked up at him and raised his eyebrows.  
"Now? We will be late for work, Dean." came the dry reply.

Trying not to smirk, Dean put his sandwich down.  
"No. As much as I would like to do that too, I meant I would like to drive you to work."  
Cas blanched and dropped his last bit of bread.  
"Dean... you know what happened last week. Should we risk it?"  
Quirking up on corner of his mouth sarcastically, Dean scoffed.  
"Angel, we were housemates before boyfriends. Who knows that changed? I'm sure someone set her straight by now."  
Cas bit his lip in doubt.  
"Awe, please angel... it's a step in letting go for me. I wanna see if I can go there without breaking out in flop sweat."

At that, Cas gave in.  
"But no kissing! Im not sure we should risk that."  
Dean sighed and patted Cas' hand.  
"Ok. I'll stay full on platonic. Just not yet, ok?" he asked with a teasing quirk of his eyebrows.  
Cas shook his dark head and kissed Dean.  
Dean cupped the back of that soft hair and kept his angel in place for a bit.

When he pulled back, his fingers skimmed Cas' ear.  
"Whoa... you gotta take those out, bud... Marley will go ape..."  
Cas reached to his ear and chuckled.  
"It's just the skull stud, a plain ring with a bat pendant and that silver fang... she'll be great." He quipped.  
Dean chuckled and took up his sandwich again.  
"Sure thing, Cas. I can't bail you out, hotstuff. I got a Volvo waiting for me."  
Cas grinned as he pulled out the earrings.  
"Ooh, hot date! Should I get jealous?"  
Throwing his head back, Dean laughed out loud.

Before they got into Baby, Dean fixed Cas' tie.  
"I don't know how you get it backwards every time, angel. It's creepy."  
Cas deadpanned.  
"No it is not. I have a gift. My ties will not succomb to straightness."  
Dean doubled over, laughing so hard, his sides ached.  
"Oh Cas... ohohoh. You... you're amahahazihing. God, I lohohove you."  
Once he recovered, he pecked that smug smile of his lover and got in the car.

Dropping Cas off went without a hitch.  
Dean, still under the guise of 'moving on', walked in with him, waved 'hi' to Marley and stopped in the reception area.  
"I'll fix the Mark today, Cas. Promise. Just... might be tonight. Not sure what Bobby has lined up."  
Cas frowned slightly, caught on and cleared his throat.  
"That will be just fine, Dean. Thank you. For dropping me off too. I really appreciate it."  
Dean struggled to not pat his butt, or kiss him, but pretenses had to be upheld.  
"No problem. See ya tonight, bud!"  
Castiël smiled and waved his hand, before walking away.

Marley glared at Dean, but he didn't mind. She was just a friend of Lisa's and she would gossip anyway.  
"Hey, Dean-o! Whatcha doing here?"  
Dean turned around, smiling widely.  
"Hiya Gabriel. Cas' Mark 5 didn't start, so I dropped him off."  
Gabriel tilted his head.  
"That's nice of you. How you settling in at your new home?" Gabe's eyes were twinkling.  
"Ok. Really. Your brother is nice, even if rarely there. Never had an easier housemate. Thanks for letting me know he needed a roommate."  
Not a lie there, and Gabe smirked.  
"Told ya, bucko. So, how was the band? I know you guys went to see them."

Dean knew it was all a show for Marley, and he milked it.  
"Oh they were great! Ash and Roy, and Walt and Viktor were in it! I still know those guys from highschool! I got a little drunk though. Cas had to drive us home. I couldn't see straight."  
Gabriel chuckled, the double entendre getting him.  
"I bet you couldn't. Been a long time since you drank that much?"  
Dean whistled low, winking at Gabe.  
"Couple of years, yeah. But I gotta go, pal. Hot date with a Volvo."  
Laughing, Gabe waved him off.  
"Go... you picking Cassie up too?"  
"Yup! Might be after hours until I can get a look at her, so..."  
With a wink and a surreptious thumbs up, Gabe turned to leave.  
"See ya!"

Dean was still chuckling as he drove to the salvage.  
Somehow he wasn't surprised to hear his phone bing.

Received at 8.52 Gabe:  
Great job, Dean-o!  
Cassie is working, and I'm keeping an eye on him.  
Did the Mark really stall, or...  
Oh, if you're cooking, get extra's! Me and Sammy are coming over.  
That means more pie, numbnuts.  
Gabe

Chuckling, he answered, pocketed his phone and started on the Volvo's fanbelt.

That night, his heart thumping like a wardrum, Dean stepped through the doors of Nomed.  
He raised a hand in greeting for Marley, then sat down to wait for Cas.  
He tapped out two messages, each reading the same line.

'I'm here. Waiting in reception. Dean'

He got two replies, almost instantly.

One from Cas, simply stating a 'Thank you, I will be down shortly.' And one from Gabriel, which was more mysterious.  
'K buddy. Hang on to your leather jacket! Excrement is about to hit the circulating air rotation device. Count down from one hundred.'

Silly enough, Dean did start counting backwards.  
At fifty, he saw Crowley, a pretentious little guy, dressed slickly and with oily ways, leave his office.  
A scowl marred the usually schooled features, and his walk was one of a pissed off man.  
"Wanna listen in? I got a line open..." someone whispered in Dean's ear.  
Gabriel, of course.  
Dean took the offered earpod.

When he put it in, he could hear fingers on a keyboard and a door closing.  
Then Lisa's voice, surprised.  
"Mr. Crowley. What can I do for you?"  
Dean widened his eyes, flashing a look at Gabe, who was gloating.  
"Please, don't do anything for me, ms. Braeden. I could catch something." a raspy voice with a British accent drawled.  
"Excuse me, sir? What?"  
Lisa seemed baffled at the nasty tone.

"I received word, well actually footage, of you. In our office, afterhours. Care to explain?"  
Lisa stuttered, then started over.  
"I... am not sure what you mean, sir."  
An impatient noise and the sound of someone sitting down.  
"I'm sure you do. Let me just say one thing, ms. Braeden. This isn't Wallstreet, this is Nomed. We have a little something called 'integrity'. You, on the other hand, don't. We all heard about your boyfriend and how unfair it was of him to take off, whilst you are with child. But if he knows even a tenth of what I know now, he has every right to skedaddle like that. Actually, I applaud him. Good for him to get out before he raises another man's brood."

Dean gaped at his friend, who looked smug and triumphant.  
Gabe mouthed at him. 'There's more.'  
Dean swallowed hard and listened.  
"See, miss, I don't care that you play hopscotch with beds. I really don't. But... you did it with employees of this firm, and worse, clients. I'm not sure Mrs. Devine will appreciate you banging Michael. If we lose the Devines, we lose a major source of income. And the same goes for the Delacroixes, the Campbells and the Miltons. So, long story short my dear, you.. are fired."

Lisa's shriek of "What?!" pierced Dean's eardrums and echoed through the hallways of Nomed. Several heads poked out of office doors to see what was going on.  
"You can't do this!" Lisa continued shrieking.  
Gabriel plucked the earpod out of Dean's ear and whispered: "Cassie would kill me if I let her burst your drums. Besides... Showtime!"  
Up the first landing a door slammed, reopened to show Crowley walking through very swiftly and grabbing Lisa by the wrist.

"You'll see that I can, and will, miss. There is this little clause in every employee's contract. It states that 'any action that will cause the firm damage of income, will have serious repercussions. Depending on the severity of said action this runs from pay cuts to getting layed off.' I think we will all agree that sleeping with clients, married clients, is one of the things that will get your perky little ass fired. So, please leave this establishment in an orderly fashion, or I will have security escort you out."

Lisa's little indignant squawks and cringes were enormously satisfying for Dean, who tried not to smirk.  
Finally, she pulled herself free and ran to the elevator.  
Crowley turned around and somehow caught sight of Dean.  
He smirked, inclined his head and said: "Hello Gabriel, Dean. I hadn't seen you there. I'm sorry you had to see that. Hell, I'm sorry anybody had to see that. But we cannot have such practices in our company. Have a good day anyway."  
He turned to leave for his office, when several things happened.

The elevator dinged and Lisa stormed out.  
The other elevator dinged too and Cas came out of that, as he just left his office to go home.  
Lisa came to a full stop, eyes blazing.  
"You did this, didn't you? You did this because I said I would tell everyone you're gay!" she shrieked at him.  
Several gasps sounded, and Crowley turned back.  
"Ms. Braeden! I would advice you to shut your venemous little trap. In this company, we don't give a rat's ass about sexual preferences. I am gay, mr. Asmodeus used to be ms. Asmodeus, Hannah is Asexual and we. don't. care. The fact that you tried to blackmail Castiël, for whatever reason, is just more proof that you do not fit in with us. Just get your homophobic little ass out of here. Now!"

Gabriel gaped openly at Crowley, then slowly started clapping.  
Except for Marley, and a very stunned Dean, everyone who was listening followed suit.  
Soon applause was rolling through the hallway for a very flustered Crowley.  
Lisa turned to storm out, saw Dean and flushed beetred.  
"What are **you** doing here?" she snapped.  
"Picking up my roommate. His car broke down." Dean answered, trying to stay casual.  
"Yeah, right! You're all such assholes!" Lisa yelled and stalked past him.


	29. Chapter 29

Dean started trembling and sight and sound were fading out, when two arms caught him.  
"Dean... Dean... stay with us. Come on. No need to faint... she's gone..."  
Dean heard it on the edge of his consciousness, but it didn't register.  
"Cassie! Shit... help me. The baffoon eats too many burgers, I swear!"  
Other arms took him over and a beloved, gravelly voice cut in.  
"Dean. Enough of this. I know it was emotionally wrecking, but stay with it. We need to get home."  
Cas. Dean fought his way up through the darkness.  
"Cas? Wha?"  
His head was thumping.

"Finally. You scared us, Dean. Don't do that." Cas sounded relieved and Dean blinked to focus on those blue eyes.  
"Hey there, bucko. Did you eat at all today?" Gabe's golden eyes swam into view next to Cas' blue ones.  
"Breakfast..." Dean managed.  
A displeased frown furrowed both Cas and Gabe's brow.  
"You muttonhead! Cassie, get him home. And he **isn't** allowed behind the wheel."  
Dean closed his eyes again.

Hands patted him down, fished his keys from his pocket and disappeared.  
"Damnit, Gabe." Dean growled. "I can drive."  
A scornfull scoff made clear what Gabe thought about that statement.  
"Of course you can. And I can poledance..." came the sarcastic answer.  
Dean chuckled, a naughty thought popping up.  
"I bet Sam would love to see that..." he teased.  
A pat on his shoulder.  
"If your mind goes there, you'll be ok... but still not driving!" Gabe grinned.

Cas was back. His warm arms helped Dean up.  
He finally opened his green eyes and the world didn't swim.  
"Dean! You fool, why didn't you eat?"  
Wearily, Dean swiveled his head towards the anxious voice.  
"Hiya, Sammy. 'M ok now. Cas 'n Gabe helped. Cas 'sgonna drive me home."

Gabe suddenly sounded all calm and reassuring.  
"He'll live, Samshine. He just got an earfull from the hellbitch. On top of his skipping lunch, I think that just drained him."  
Dean could sense Sam relaxing next to him.  
"Thanks Gabe. We owe you."  
From the corner of his eye, Dean saw Gabriel duck his head.  
"Naah. Dean-o promised to cook all of us dinner, didn'tcha, bucko?"  
Dean nodded, glad the world stayed stable.

"Yeah... Gabe said you'd be there, Sammy. You up for pork tenderloin with fries and a cucumbersalad? Cas is making the salad."  
Chuckling, Sam shook his head.  
"You two... always thinking with your stomach. I'm in."  
Grunting, Dean pulled free from Cas, even though he didn't want to.  
"Good. Let's get our collective asses home. Cas, you'd better not scratch Baby."  
Cas blinked, but his mouth curled up ever so slightly.  
"Of course, Dean."

The pie was gone, and the last crumbs of crust were licked from the corners of Dean's mouth.  
"Mmm. Good eats, guys. Dean-o... Superb pumpkinpie! Where'd you get it?" Gabe asked, licking his fingers.  
Stretching and patting his stomach, Dean smirked.  
"From scratch. Mom's special recipe, right Sam?"  
Helping Cas clear the table, Sam nodded.  
"Yeah. Dean's first pie ever was this one. But the salad was surprisingly good too. For one with only three ingredients."  
Cas dipped his head slightly in aknowledgement.  
"Thank you. That one is oma's. Quick and easy."

Gabe got to his feet with a bound.  
"Well, since you two made dinner, Sammich and I can do the dishes. Right?"  
Seeing the pleased blush on Sam's face, Dean didn't protest and pulled Cas along to the sofa.  
"That's great, guys! Thanks! Cas, we're gonna set up a movie. Family movienight! Haven't had one in ages."  
Cas struggled lightly.  
"Dean... I really think we should..."  
Bringing his mouth righ next to Cas' ear, Dean whispered.  
"Cas... look at them... they're aching to be alone, like together-alone... and I like that idea too."  
With that adorable confused headtilt, Cas eyed up both their brothers.  
"Oh... oh! Movienight... great idea, Dean. We shall sort out the movie discussion before we start. Yes. Great plan."

Dean chuckled.  
"Cas... you're babbling." he teased.  
A blush shot up Cas' cheeks, as he clearly remembered the last time Dean said that to him.  
His cerulean eyes shot to Dean's and Dean could see the pupils blow out.  
They scarpered to the livingroom and stumbled onto the sofa in a heap of tangled limbs and warm kisses.  
"Hm. De..Dean... the movie... we don't know... how long... we got." Cas managed between kisses.

Seeing Cas' point, Dean grabbed something from the side table.  
He held it up for inspection.  
"How did we ever get 'Brave'?" Cas sniggered.  
Smothering the giggles with his mouth, Dean put the DVD back on the table.  
"Don't downtalk Merida. That girl is badass!"  
Cas kept giggling and pulled Dean back in.  
"Then I will have to watch, don't I? That was easy."  
He stared into Dean's eyes, a twinkle in his own.


	30. Chapter 30

Dean was home early from a slack day at the salvage, and decided he could take a bath before Cas would get home. The wind was still icy cold, and had cut through every layer of clothing Dean wore.  
He'd just gotten out and put on his boxers, when the doorbell rang.  
Cussing under his breath, Dean quickly slipped on a fresh T-shirt, jeans and plaid button-up, before running downstairs.  
In that short time, the doorbell had rung twice more.

With a frown, Dean pulled open the door.  
"He he... dat mocht eens tijd wor...den..."  
The 5'9" old lady on the porch turned and her sentence faded off.  
Dean gulped. This must be the formidable oma Novak, because that was Dutch.  
"Hello. Do come in Mrs. Novak. I'm..." Dean started, but the feisty old lady cut in.  
"You must be Dean. Well, you're polite enough." she said bluntly as she walked past.

Remembering all the lessons Bobby had drilled into his skull, Dean offered to take her coat.  
"Ooh. And a gentleman too, thank you kindly, young man."  
She smiled at him, her grey-green eyes twinkling like Gabriel's could.  
"Your daddy must be proud." she stated, her Dutch accent only ever so lightly audible.  
Dean felt he liked the old lady.

"Sorry, ma'am... I wouldn't know. My surrogate father, grumpy old coot, does say he is at times."  
Cas' oma laughed, her laugh warm and hearty.  
"Oh, I like you, Dean... you're not too scared to be yourself! You and my Castiël (she pronounced it Kahs-teeyel) are peas in a pod!"  
He couldn't help it, Dean smiled at her. She was such a great lady!  
"I do hope so, Mrs. Novak. It does make life easier if we get along, doesn't it?"  
Mrs. Novak tittered, managing to make it not sound weird, coming from an elderly lady like her.  
"Oh, call me Cis. Mrs. Novak makes me feel old... or..." A calculating look crept into her eyes. "... are you and Castiël more than meets the eye? You are, aren't you?"

Dean gulped. How the Hell did she get that so soon? And... did she approve?  
Cis chuckled lightly.  
"Oh, jongens... don't you worry, Dean. I know about him being into men, and I don't mind. But..."  
A hint of steel crept into her voice and Dean suddenly felt like a six year old, scolded for cussing. "... you must call me oma then! Come here you!"  
She stood on her tiptoes and pulled his head downwards and to the side, placing three kisses on his cheeks.  
One left, one right, one left, then she hugged him tight.  
"Welcome to my family, son. Don't you dare hurt my boy, though!"

Dean was floored. This lady was amazing!  
"Cis..."  
An eyebrow shot up in warning.  
"I mean oma... you're awesome!"  
Cis smiled and tapped his cheek.  
"Oh ja... just what the doctor ordered." she muttered, picking up a plastic bag she'd brought and walking right through to the kitchen.

"So, Dean, my boy. What were you planning for dinner tonight?" Cis asked, pulling groceries out of the plastic bag with a practised ease.  
"I... burgers?" Dean said, watching her move around like she owned the place.  
Cis stopped to look at him.  
"Well, since I invited Gabriel (again totally different pronounciation. Lot more phlegm sound.) to come over, and he said he would bring someone, I doubt you have enough. Besides, didn't you work today, Dean?"  
Dean nodded, eyes growing a little wild as a bag of potatoes got dumped on the counter.  
"Thought so. You have earned a bit of rest too. Sit that perky butt on a stool. I like company while I'm cooking. Just don't get in my way."

Watching Cis cook was amazing. She peeled potatoes in swift strokes, quartered them and dumped them in a big pan, filled with water.  
"Dean, liefje... weet jij.. oh.. prut. Do you know who my Gabriel is bringing along?"  
Dean smiled. Seemed Cis had already accepted him enough to start talking Dutch to him.  
"My guess he's bringing Sammy. Yeah. I see you got green stuff? Lots of that. Sam is a veggisaurus."  
That made Cis smile brightly.  
"Oh good. I like people who eat their greens!"

She eyed the sack of unpeeled potatoes and mumbled under her breath.  
"Vijf personen... mmm... anderhalve kilo.. ja. Heb ik dan genoeg boerenkool? En de worst moet dan maar één extra... je kan geen... oh!"  
Her grey haired head shot up.  
"Dean... did I hear you say Sam is vegetarian?"  
Dean laughed at that.  
"No ma'am. Far from it. The amount of meat I stuffed in that kid... no way!"

Cis turned to him, abandonning her potatoes for now.  
"You what? How do you know this Sam?" she asked, eyes wide.  
Before he could answer, the scullery door flew open and Gabe ran inside, flinging himself onto Cis with a shriek.  
"Omaaaaa! Wat eten we? Oh... boerenkool! Met worst?"  
Cis chuckled, hugging Gabe and giving him the same three kisses she had given Dean.  
"Ja natuurlijk, gekkie. Anders eet jij het niet. Maar ik heb chipolatapudding toe. Zelfgemaakt."  
Her hand rested lovingly on his head for a tick.  
Gabe lit up and Dean chuckled at his joyful face.  
Seeing Sam hover at the door, he winked.

"Cis... I mean... oma... meet Sam, my little brother." Dean said with a grin.  
Cis turned to where Dean was looking and gasped.  
"Grote goden...Die is langer dan Addy..."  
She started at his feet and had to crook her neck to look at Sam's face.  
"Little? As in younger, because, lieverd... wow! He is **tall**. Way taller than you."  
She turned to Dean and grinned.  
"That's because you stuffed him with meat, isn't it?"

Gabriel squawked, Sam blinked in surprise, and Dean burst out laughing.  
"Dean-o? What the Hell?" Gabe managed.  
Cis smacked him upside the head.  
"Gabriel Eric Novak! Taalgebruik!" she scolded, her eyes sparking.  
Cowed, Gabe rubbed his head, pouting.  
"Sorry, oma. But what was that about meat and Samshine here?"

Sam shook his head and extended one of his large hands.  
"Mrs. Novak, I'm Sam Winchester, Dean's younger brother."  
Cis took him in, turned to Dean, then Gabe.  
"Hmm. Yes. I see the resemblance, both super handsome. But in a different way though. Gabriel..." Her tone grew a little scolding again.  
"Wees eerlijk. Is dit serieus? Grote broer hier verpulvert je als je slechts speelt."  
Gabriel rubbed his neck, muttering "Oma..." under his breath.  
Cis kissed him on the brow, then finally took Sam's hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Sam. You're so tall, bend over. I could barely reach Dean here. You're impossible!"  
Frowning in confusion, Sam lowered his head a little.  
Cis grabbed him, like she'd done Dean, and, smooch, smooch, smooch! Three kisses again, followed by a quick hug.  
"I will tell you the same thing I told your gorgeous brother here...Welcome to my family, but don't you hurt my boy!"  
Gabriel's cheeks were near incandecent by now.  
Cis shook her head at him and prodded him in the side.  
"Nou... aan de slag jongen! Schillen!" she said in a crisp tone, handing Gabe the peeling knife.

Cis had Dean setting the table, with a cloth and everything. Sam was on watch to make sure the potatoes and green stuff were boiling correctly, and Gabriel was doing the dishes with her.  
"You just make sure it doesn't boil over, Sam. That's always such a mess!" Cis said in that crisp and direct tone.  
Sam nodded at her and smiled.  
"Cis, you're an awesome lady." Dean said, placing the last glasses.  
With a smile, Cis pinched his cheek.  
"Call me oma, please, and thank you. I like you and Sam too. You'll be good for my boys. Speaking off... Gabriel! When is Cas due home?"

Hearing the garage door slide closed, Dean coughed.  
"Right about now, oma." he said with a smirk.  
Sure enough, the front door opened and they could hear Cas put his stuff in the closet.  
"Dean? Do I smell... kale?" came the gravelly voice, full of wonder.  
"Verrassing, lieverd!" Cis called as Cas entered the kitchen.  
"Oma! And Sam and Gabriel! What... why are you all here?" Cas exclaimed.  
Cis gave Cas the three kiss greeting and ruffled his hair.  
"I wanted my boys to have a hearty meal with this weather. So, kale mash! With 'rookworst' and gravy."

Cas smiled warmly at his oma and kissed her on the head.  
"Of course. And you wanted to meet Dean. See who Gabriel has conned into living with his oddball brother, right?"  
Cis frowned at him, putting her hands firmly on her hips.  
"Castiël, you stop that right now! You're just perfect the way you are."  
Dean nodded with a barely surpressed grin.  
"Yeah, Cas. What she said." he intoned with a hint of steel, earning him an appreciative glance from Cis.

oooOooo oooOooo oooOooo

He he... dat mocht eens tijd wor...den... - Well that's about ti...me...

Oh, jongens...- oh boy

Dean, liefje... weet jij.. oh.. prut. - Dean, honey, do you know.. oh... fudge

Vijf personen... mmm... anderhalve kilo.. ja. Heb ik dan genoeg boerenkool? En de worst moet dan maar één extra... je kan geen... oh!- Five persons... mmm. A kilo and a half.. yes. Do I have enough kale? And we will have to add an extra saussage. You can't ... oh!

Omaaaaa! Wat eten we? Oh... boerenkool! Met worst?- Grannyyyyy! What's for dinner? Oh... kale! With saussage?

Ja natuurlijk, gekkie. Anders eet jij het niet. Maar ik heb chipolatapudding toe. Zelfgemaakt- Yes of course, silly. You won't eat it otherwise. But I have fruitpudding as dessert. Homemade

Grote goden...Die is langer dan Addy...- Great Gods! He is taller than Addy

lieverd- sweetheart, honey... (term of endearment)

Taalgebruik!- Language!

Wees eerlijk. Is dit serieus? Grote broer hier verpulvert je als je slechts speelt.- Be honest. Is this serious? Big brothers here will pulverise you if you're just playing.

Nou... aan de slag jongen! Schillen!- Well, hop to it, boy! Peel!

Verrassing, lieverd!-Surprise, dear! (Or sweetheart, honey, or whichever term you want)


	31. Chapter 31

"So... Dean-o. You gonna tell me what that comment was back there? About stuffing Sam with meat?" Gabriel demanded, after licking his dessert plate clean.  
Sam snorted and almost spit out his beer.  
"Excuse me?" Cas said, placing his spoon on his plate with care.  
Dean and Cis chuckled, sending eachother small smirks.  
"Oma was asking me if Sam was a vegetarian, so I told her I had stuffed him with enough meat to know he wasn't."  
Sam was grinning to his plate, not saying anything.  
Cas blinked owlishly and Gabriel gaped.  
"What?" Dean asked, looking around innocently. Then things started to click.

"Oh my God! You guys! For once it **wasn't** a double entendre! When we were kids, I took care of Sammy most of the time. I cooked him dinner! Made sure he ate his veggies, and got his proteins. Geez!"  
That was enough for Sam. He threw his head back and laughed heartily.  
"Oh my God. You should've seen your faces! Gabe, sugarbear... are you turning green on me?"  
Breathing an annoyed huff, Gabriel crossed his arms.

"Well, all this innuendo was fun, but now I need to know. Why were **you** the one making sure Sam at all his veggies? Where was your mom?" Cis interupted.  
Dean sighed and Sam poked at a scrap of pudding on his plate.  
Finally, Dean spoke, voice soft, eyes on the table in a million mile stare  
"Mom was... gone. House fire. I was four, Sammy just six months. Dad... Well, he just couldn't take it. He dragged Sam and me across the country, convinced there was someone responsible for mom's death, and he would find her. We grew up living in motelrooms, fending for ourselves. Dad dropped us off at Uncle Bobby's sometimes, and those were the times we almost got to put down roots. Only Dad would drag us off before they really settled. Last time he did that, I threw a tantrum. We had been here for more than a year. I was doing fine in highschool, Sam too."

His green eyes flicked towards Cas, signalling what he couldn't yet tell.  
 _'I'd just met Cas. And I was afraid he'd get hurt if I wasn't there to beat up the bullies.'_  
Cis' sharp eyes followed Dean's quick glance.  
"And you were interested in someone here?" she shrewdly asked.  
Dean rubbed his neck.  
"Not interested perse, but ehm... someone did catch my eye. But I also had my friends here, as did Sam. Anyway, after Dad uprooted us again, I started planning to get us a stable place. Bobby helped me, and after a while we could move in with him. I got my GED, so I could start working for him and others, to make some money, assuring he didn't have to carry all the costs."

Cis leaned back, her lips pressed together.  
"Would that be old Bobby Singer? From the junkyard?"  
When Sam and Dean confirmed that it was, she whooped and clapped her hands.  
"I knew he was an old teddybear! You can grouse and grump at me all you want, but if your heart is pure, I can tell."  
Sam smirked at Cas, hazel eyes twinkling.  
"You were so right, Cas. They know of eachother at least." he asessed.  
Cas chuckled and Gabriel finally relaxed.  
"Don't tell me... you had to have your Mini Cooper fixed?" Gabe asked, grinning.  
Dean gaped and slapped his thigh.  
"That little monster was yours, oma? The little, classic, ochre Mini. The one that looked like a kitten but roared like a tiger."

Cis nodded, a proud twinkle to her eyes.  
"Yes it is. He is still running. I guess I have you to thank for that?"  
Dean grinned widely and nodded once.  
"It was my pleassure, oma. Boy, did he surprise me when I drove him around to see if the new distributor cap was working properly. That little guy is a beast!"  
Cis chuckled, and Gabriel joined her.  
"You should see her driving... Oma hates dawdlers with a passion!"  
Cis huffed and crossed her arms.  
"I have better things to do than wait until they want to stop fiddling with their radio and punch the gas!"  
That caused an outburst of laughter.

"But really, Dean. I am sorry about your parents. I have to say, you did a great job with Sam. I think you two are amazing, and I'm glad my boys found you."  
Gabriel spluttered in protest, but Cas smiled softly.  
"Thank you, oma." he said, placing his hand on her arm.  
"I am glad I found Dean too. And I'm sure once Gabriel gets over his tantrum, he will tell you he is happy with Sam."  
Gabriel kept spluttering, but Sam raised an eyebrow at him and his protests bled out.  
Sam smiled warmly and tuned to Cis.  
"I agree, Cis. You did a great job with these two as well. Thank you. And Gabe, I'm happy to be with you. I'm sure Dean and Cas knew about us, so no news there. Although..."  
He side-eyed his brother.  
"I'm happily surprised to find Dean has gotten his head out of his ass. When did this happen, you two?"

Dean narrowed his eyes at Sam.  
"Shut up, bitch." he started, but Cis clapped him up the back of his head.  
"Taalgebruik! I mean: language!" she snapped in a true grandmotherly way.  
Sam smirked and mouthed a 'Jerk' at Dean when Cis was looking the other way.  
"Sam," Cis said, earnestly. "I demand you call me oma too. I told Dean to do it as well. Dean..." A steely glare froze him. "...You apologise to Sam, and answer his question."  
Dean bit his lip, but answered.  
"Yes ma'am. Sorry, Sam. And Cas and I... we... uhn. You guys..."  
Cas shook his head in resignation.  
"I got this, Dean. We went to the bar, to watch a local band, on the last friday of my vacation. Dean got a little... enthousiastic with the drinks. So I drove us home in his Baby."

Sam stopped him right there. "He let you **drive**?! In his car?! Dean..."  
Dean glared at him, glanced at Cis, who was looking at them all in turn, and mouthed a quiet 'bitch' at him while she looked at Cas.  
Sam smirked, mouthed 'Jerk' back, and waved his hands to urge Cas on.  
"Yes... so I drove us home, and when we get inside, Dean, who is quite cuddly when inibriated, asked if he could keep me, and proceded to kiss me."  
Gabriel had his chin in his hands and doe eyes.  
"Awwww. Dean-o! I never knew you could be romantic!" he cooed, heaving a big sigh.  
Sam chuckled, but bit his lip.  
"I'm happy for you guys... I really am. Dean... I almost never say this, but I love you man. And I say you deserve this."

Dean turned beetroot but hugged his sasquatch brother tightly.  
"Ditto, Sammy. Ditto."


	32. Chapter 32

Things calmed down somehow. The big surprises stopped happening, and they got into a quiet routine.  
Dean got used to being with Cas.  
From time to time he drove him to work for some reason or other, and that went smoothly every time, apart from Marley's bitchfaces, but Dean grew up with Sam. Marley was patheticly bad at them.  
The few times Dean saw Crowley, they greeted eachother with guarded respect, even if Crowley cast suspicious glances at Dean and Cas.

Months ticked by, and springtime came.  
The weather turned beautiful and Dean decided that they needed a family BBQ.  
He bought tons of meat, breadrolls, and even veggies, and Cas got beer and scotch cheap at the bar.  
The sun was out, the bees in the back of the yard were buzzing, and life was great.  
Dean threw a steak on the grill and cussed softly, otherwise Cis or Bobby would smack him upside the head.  
This was too good to last. His gut rebelled against the whole day. Something was up, and his gut knew it.

"Dean... What's wrong?"  
Cas stepped up to him, nibbling the back of his neck softly.  
Knees turning to jelly, Dean hummed and leaned into Cas.  
"I dunno, Honeybee. I'm afraid something will happen, and this all... it gets ripped from me."  
Cas hugged him from behind and kissed his cheek, stubble scratching lightly.  
"Of course not, Dean. I know we have things we don't agree on, but I would never let this go willingly... I'd valliantly fight for you. Oh! That reminds me! I invited a friend of mine, with her partner. Is that ok?"

Dean sighed blissfully at the scritchy kiss and hummed softly.  
"A friend I haven't met yet? Sure. If she and her other half eat meat, plenty of that. Veggisaurian? Greens galore. Cas, angel, you know I welcome anyone."  
Cas happily kissed his nose and turned to Sam, who wanted to know if he and Gabe should get more desserts.  
As soon as Cas let go of him, Dean frowned at the grill.  
His gut was still uneasy. The garden door opened and a very, **very** familiar redhead popped in.

"What's up bitche... what the actual Hell? Sam? Dean?! What?! What are you guys doing here?!"  
Dean grinned widely as Sam let out a loud: "Charlie!" and scooped her in his massive arms.  
Charlie was grinning just as widely and flung herself at Sam.  
"You guys! Oh my God!" she squealed and hugged Sam tightly.  
"Sam, let her go... I want my turn!" Dean grinned and spread his arms.  
Charlie ran to him and hugged him too.  
"Jesus, Dean... what the Hell are you doing here, man?"

Cas came over, smiling softly.  
"Charlie, let my boyfriend go... you're smothering him."  
Charlie squeaked and her eyes flashed from Cas to Dean and back.  
"You're frikken kidding me! **You're** the new boyfriend?! Castiël... you nabbed my best friend!"  
She snapped her head around, whipping Dean in the face with her red hair.  
"Samuel William Winchester! Are you Gabriel's new guy?"  
Sam blushed, but grinned.  
"Guilty, Charlie." he chuckled, pulling Gabe close and kissing the man on his golden hair.  
Her face lighting up in a devious grin, Charlie winked at Sam.  
"You'll be good for him, Sam. Curb his more outrageous side."

Gabriel blushed, but smirked anyway.  
"Shut up Bradbury. You know I can prank you. Cassie said you would bring someone?"  
Clapping her hands to her mouth, Charlie turned around.  
"Oh shit! I'm sorry babe! Come..." she babbled, as she ran towards a tall, beautifully tanned woman with long brown curls.  
"Guys, meet Gilda. Gilda, this is Castiël, Gabriel, Sam and Dean."  
Cas smiled warmly at Gilda and offered her a drink.  
While he got it, Gabe curtesied to Gilda and winked at Charlie.  
"Why, Bradbury, you never told me you caught an elf!" he quipped.  
Gilda blushed as Charlie punched Gabe in the arm.

Rubbing his arm, Gabe turned to Sam.  
"Sammykins... she hurt me!" he whined, only to get an unimpressed raised eyebrow from Sam.  
"So? I can't help you. My Queen is free to punish those who gain her irk." Sam delivered with a deadpan.  
Dean guffawed heartily at Gabriel's hurt face.  
"Sorry, Gabe. Sammy is a Knight of Moondor..." he managed after a while.  
Gabriel narrowed his eyes at him.  
"Well, then as my incipient brother inlaw, **you** should defend my honour!" he breathed hoightily.  
Sam and Dean folded over in laughter.  
"Sorry, Dude. Dean is also mine." Charlie grinned. "It's good to be the Queen!"

Dramatically, Gabe pressed the back of his hand to his brow.  
"Alas! Mine poor heart! My betrothed and his kin are all under the thumb of the fair Queen!"  
He spotted Cas, coming back with Gilda's spritzer and lime.  
"Castiël! Brother! Do not tell me thou hast fallen under the spell of the fair Queen too!"  
Sam, Dean and Charlie all looked over to the blue eyed guy, eyes sparkling with mirth.  
Cas smiled his crooked smile, turning Dean's insides to molten lava in the process.  
"Fear not, my sibling... I will avenge thine honour and thine heart!"  
With a flourish, he presented the drink to Gilda.  
"Fair Elven creature... take this most potente potion, and be freed from the Queen's wily ways."

Flustered, and looking totally flabbergasted, Gilda took the glass.  
"Er... Thanks? I guess?"  
The whole group, except for Gilda, who nipped her drink, crumbled to the ground, laughing.  
"Oh my God, Gabe! That was awesome! And Castiël! You **have** to become my bard! That was perfect!" Charlie gasped.  
Seeing her girlfriend looking at them like they'd gone around the bend, she sobered.  
"Gilda, hon, Sam and Dean are part of my entourage. Castiël and Gabriel not yet, but, guys, really... you gotta join now! You got this in the pocket!"

Castiël smirked at his brother, who licked his lips.  
"Do I get to see my Sammoose in breeches?" Gabe asked.  
Charlie grinned. "Skintight, leather. And chainmail. Dean too."  
The Novak brothers sported identical, lustful grins.  
"Count us in, oh Queen!" Gabe said, running his hand over Sam's backside.  
"Hey! No hanky-panky!" Bobby shouted from the backporch.  
Dean flashed him a grin and winked.  
"Yes sir!"

Later that evening, when the sun had set, and fairylights were twinkling in the garden, Dean saw Gabe and Charlie huddled together.  
The uneasy feeling in his gut tripled and he sipped his beer slowly.  
"Dean... You'll burn a hole in their backs, dear."  
Startled, Dean turned around.  
"Sorry, oma. It's just... I'm not sure I trust them, huddled together like that."  
Cis quirked an eyebrow at the pair and shrugged.  
"Nothing you can do, liefje. If my Gabriel is on the warpath, better take cover. He tends to use a nuclear bomb to swat a fly."  
Dean nodded, taking another pull from his bottle.  
"I know... and Charlie, sweet, quirky, cooky Charlie... she is just that... a nuclear bomb. I pity the fly they want to swat."


	33. Chapter 33

**I'm so, so sorry, people... not my opinion in here... REALLY! I don't care whom you love, as long as you are happy.**

oooOooo oooOooo oooOooo

Humming, Dean parked Baby at Nomed.  
The Mark needed a tune-up, and Dean had driven Cas to work this morning.  
They still kept the PDA at a minimum there, but it was something he could live with.  
Marley was still in reception, and there was no need to poke the bear.  
Cole had come through, and the ruling on the house, and everything else, was to liquidise all assets, and Dean would get half of all.  
Somewhere, deep, deep down, he felt a little sorry for Lisa. It was her home they were yanking from under her butt, but she definitely had it coming.

Cas wasn't in reception, and he hadn't answered Dean's text either.  
His gut clenched.  
"Hello, Dean." Marley said, voice falsely sweet.  
"Are you picking up Novak again?"  
Narrowing his eyes at her, Dean nodded once. The bitch hadn't spoken to him since before the break up... Something was weird.  
"Yeah. You got a problem with that, Marley?"  
Marley tittered, sounding ridiculously like a twelve year old.  
"Noooo. Of course not! Go on... He's still in his office. Third floor, second to the right."  
Gut churning by now, he tipped his fingers to his head and walked on.

Something bugged him, big time, and he decided to take the stairs.  
Slipping into the stairwell was easy, as was quickly and silently making his way up three flights of stairs.  
Slowly pushing open the door on the third level, Dean carefully cased the hallway.  
Years of scrounging up his money oneway or another, haunting dark alleyways, always on the lookout for danger, made his steps inaudible, his movements lithe.  
Cas' office was darkened, the blinds drawn. That made Dean frown. Cas loved the light, he'd never draw the blinds unless he was leaving.  
He debated what to do. Waltzing right up, knocking on the door might be a tad suicidal.  
Every instinct Dean ever had, was screaming at him to lay low.

Standing there, Dean weighed every option, but he couldn't see how he could get in unseen. So for now, he would get close, and listen. See if he could get a handle on what the Hell was going on.  
He slipped closer, and pressed his ear to the glass.  
"You don't have to do this." came Cas' voice.  
"I'm sure there is a way to settle this without violence."  
Throat dry, Dean pressed harder.  
"Shut up!"

Ice flooded Dean's veins. Lisa! And she sounded royally pissed.  
"You and your gay ways... you turned Dean off me, didn't you? Parading around in that sexy suit, showing him how tight that ass is."  
Something thumped to the floor and broke.  
"I had him straight again. He didn't look at men anymore. I cured him... and now... you will lead him off again."  
The ice was swiftly replaced with indignant fire. How could she spout such nonsense?! She herself flirted with girls, and tried to get on with them. How was that any different?

It seemed Cas thought the same way.  
"But you... you kissed girls too. Marley.." Dean shuddered. "...and Becky. And I am sure you tried something with Charlie too."  
At Lisa's scoff, Dean clenched his jaw. How lightly she brushed that off.  
"Really? Oh, Castiël... that was just business. But you... you want Dean for yourself. To love, to hold, to fuck? HAH! You can't have him, Castiël. He is mine. MINE! Once he sees me again, he will come crawling back to me. He can't love you, see. He is straight, and mine. He has been for ten years!"  
That was it. The last straw. Dean took a deep breath to calm himself and knocked.

Deciding to play dumb, Dean called: "Cas? You in there, bud?"  
"Answer him, or else..." Dean could vaguely hear Lisa hiss.  
"Y..Yeah... C...come on in, Dean." Dean hated the breaks in Cas' voice.  
He opened the door, frowning in the darkness. He could see perfectly. He'd always been able to see in the dark, but Lisa never believed him, or never payed enough attention to him to notice.  
She stood by the desk, a silver letteropener held against Cas' esophagus.

Deadpanning, Dean still played dumb.  
"Cas? What's going on? Why is it so dark here? I can't see jackshit."  
A slight intake told him Cas had caught on. He knew Dean had navigated the house in pitch blackness from day one.  
"H...here. I... just uhn..."  
Lisa had pressed the blade deeper. Dean nearly growled, but got in further.  
"Coming, bud? I put cold ones in the fridge." he coaxed, looking around for a way out for Cas.  
"N..not just yet... clo..close the door, Dean." Panick roughened up Cas' voice even more.  
Not seeing anything of use yet, Dean obliged.

The room turned pitch dark now, Dean blinked once to adjust his eyes.  
Lisa looked a little worse for wear. Her hair was in disarray, and her eyes looked wild, whites gleaming in the dark.  
"So nice of you to join us, Dean!" she snarked and flipped on a desklight.  
Scrunging his eyes shut against the light, Dean bit back his angry retort. This was no time to get snarky.  
"Lisa... what the..."  
Seeing her with the lights on, one thing was abundantly clear.  
"You're not pregnant!" Dean called, eyeing the totally flat belly of her tight dress.

"Gee... really? No shit, Sherlock. Of course I'm not! Never was! I could sense you were slipping away from me, so I faked it. Got pee from a pregnant dog for the test."  
Dean licked his lips, barely holding back. That blade was still against Cas' neck, and the bitch had broken his skin. A ruby rivulet was sliding slowly under Cas' collar, making Dean want to snap Lisa's neck.  
"Why are you holding Cas hostage? What has he ever done to you?" Dean tried, forcing himself to deadpan and sound calm.  
Lisa snarled, lips curling.  
"What's he done? He has made you gay again! I had you back on track, Dean. And along comes mr. Sexvoice with his tight slacks and ruffled hair, and he makes you look at men again!"

Dean gaped at her. Even hearing her say it twice didn't make it any less ridiculous.  
"What? Lisa... have you **ever** heard the term bi-sexual? That's what I am. That's what I always was! And 'made me gay'? Are you even listening to yourself? You can't choose who you love. It just happens. And just FYI... It was your own screwing around that turned me off. I just stuck around long enough to get things set in order. I only really met Cas after I left. Here? We just said 'hi' or waved. Sure, I checked out his butt, but I was always faithful to you. If you had done me the same courtesy, I might still be with you. But you fucked around, and how much I don't even wanna know. You screwed us over, Lisa. You. Leave Cas out of this. We're just roommates... don't hurt him."  
By now Dean was desperate, because the bloodflow was not stemming. Lisa kept putting more preassure on the blade and Cas, cerulean eyes wide and filled with fear, could hardly move without hurting himself more.

"Roommates... I don't care! He still gets to see you every day, and you're MINE! NO-ONE WILL SEE YOU BUT ME! YOU ARE MINE!"  
Totally stumped, Dean sat down in a chair.  
"You're nuts..." he breathed.  
Lisa shrieked a shrill laugh.  
"Nuts? Maybe, but you made me. You shouldn't have left me, Dean!"  
The situation was dire. Lisa wasn't going to be reasonable, and in her state of mind, Cas was just a minor obstacle. She'd shank him and not even wince.

Dean's heart thumped in panic. He couldn't lose Cas. He'd off himself!  
He looked at Cas, trying to look like it wasn't his reason for breathing that was held at knifepoint.  
"Cas... I'm sorry... I... I never thought..." he tried, but words failed to come in full sentences.  
Cas quirked up one corner of his mouth bitterly.  
"Don't. It isn't your fault, Dean. I understand."  
Lisa narrowed her eyes, and tightened her grip on the blade.  
"Shut up. Both of you!"

Cas gulped carefully, and Dean's heart sank.  
There was no way out, but if he kept her talking, maybe someone would notice something off.  
"Lisa. Why did you even get it on with me, if you knew I like men too?"  
Lisa laughed, too high, too hard.  
"Because I knew I could help you. I could turn you back. I told Aaron you were straight."  
Dean sat up. "You what? I didn't know you then!"  
Lisa laughed again.  
"Not really, but I knew you. And I saw how you flirted back with Aaron. All flustered, but just as if he was a girl. I tried getting close to you, but you ignored me, for him. So I got him out of the way."

Dean sighed. Had he been blind ever since highschool? First Cas, now Lisa.  
"Dad pulled Sam and me out two months later. You recognised me once I got back here?"  
Lisa grinned, her teeth eerily white in the semi-darkness.  
"I kept an eye on that salvage place... I knew you would turn up there..."  
Bile rose in Dean's throat. She'd been stalking Bobby on the off chance Dean would come back. She hadn't gone nuts when Dean left her, she had alway been nuts.  
It just never registered, because she hid it well.  
"Lisa... no matter what you do... I'm not going to get back with you. Even if... if you hurt Cas."

Cas' eyes grew soft, his love for Dean shining in the deep blue.  
His throat running dry, Dean bit his lip and looked away.  
Lisa wasn't to know. She'd hurt Cas badly for sure.  
Lisa snarled and turned away from Cas, shoving him off her.  
"Don't you dare leave, Castiël! I'll kill you. I'm a pretty decent knife thrower. See... I had to survive living in a trailerpark. My momma gave me a butterfly knife when I was ten."  
Several things clicked with Dean. Her momma. Died when they were together just a few months.

"That's why we never went to see her, or visit her grave. You didn't want me to see your roots."  
Another too high, too loud, bark of laughter.  
"Of course not, silly. Mom isn't even dead. Just in jail. Been for the last eight years. Dealing. Not the smartest career choice. No. You were better off not knowing, Dean."  
He couldn't believe his ears.  
"Better? Better living with a lying, manipulative bitch? Oh, Lis... you really need your head checked..."

With a snarl, she slapped him across the cheek.  
"You... no... no. This is not you. You love me, right? You didn't mean that. Any of it. You'll get out of that... faggot house, and stop this all. And we'll live happily..."  
Dean scoffed loudly, rubbing his stinging cheek.  
"If you say 'ever after' I'm gonna puke, so help me..."  
Cas just stood by the desk, one hand against his still bleeding neck, trembling slightly. His blue eyes darted between Dean and Lisa, then, ever so briefly, to the desk light before flashing back to Dean.

The third time this cycle happened, Dean finally understood. The desklight was some fancy, designer thing. A heavy foot supported an elegant metal arm that vaguely looked like a tulip, the lightbulb artfully hidden in the flower.  
A soft sound by the door distracted Lisa, and Dean softly curled his hand around the stem of the flower.  
"If that's that idiot janitor, or the nightguard, and that door opens, he'll get a knife to the chest." Lisa hissed under her breath.  
Dean felt the blood rush from his cheeks. Gabe! It had to be him. As mr. Gold, he would have noticed something off by now, and he would want to know Cas was ok. Fuck!  
He gripped the lamp harder.

Lisa eyed the door suspiciously, then turned to Dean, putting herself within swinging range.  
Dean didn't hesitate and swung the heavy lamp around, hitting Lisa in the chest and knocking the wind from her.  
In a flash, Dean was on her, pinning her to the floor.  
"You crazy bitch... if Lucifer himself was coming to me, telling me it was living with you again, or Hell... Well, I've always liked the warmth."  
She growled, then snarled and glared at him.  
The door opened, flooding the tiny office with light, until a big figure blocked it again.  
"Dean? Cas? Are you ok?"  
Dean let out a relieved chuckle.  
"Yeah, Sammy. We're good."


	34. Chapter 34

In front of Sam, Gabriel stood with two burly police officers and Jody.  
Gabe pushed himself past the law and ran to his brother.  
"Cassie! Oh God! He's bleeding! Jodyyyy!"  
Cas chuckled weakly.  
"I'm ok, Gabriel... it's just a nick."  
Striding right up to him, forcing his hand away and narrowing her eyes at the wound, Jody clacked her tongue.  
"Ok. 'Fraid not, sunshine. You need stitches, pronto." she declared and whistled.  
A doctor came bustling in, middle aged, looking harrowed.

"Frank, back me up here. If memory serves, Francisca's grandkids are as assinine as she is. Stitches?" Jody asked crisply.  
The doc lowered his black rimmed glasses and peered at Cas' neck.  
"Hm. Yeah.. yeah.. definitely. Adam..."He waved at a younger man, hovering at the door. "Take him outta here. Get him stitched up."  
The doc turned his sharp eyes to Dean.  
"You're kinda pretty... Lemme see. She hurt you?"  
Dean bit his lip not to start laughing. There was nothing remotely funny, yet he wanted to laugh until his belly ached.  
"Just a slap, doc. I'm fine. I got her better. Swung that lamp at her. Hit the chest area."

Docter Frank knelt next to Lisa, who was wearing cuffs by now.  
His fingers probed gently, but not too gently, as Lisa snapped at him to be careful.  
"Hm. Maybe a cracked rib, definitely bruised, but what I heard from Goldy here, she was served some karma. Did she cut blue-eyes?"  
The urge to laugh drained out of Dean as he recalled the blood sliding down Cas' neck. He gulped.  
"Yeah... with the letteropener. Doc... he's gonna be ok, right?"  
Doc Frank narrowed his eyes at him.  
"You family?" he bit out.

Watching Lisa being frogmarched from the room, Dean clenched his jaw.  
"Yes. I'm his boyfriend." he stated clearly, and got an indignant squawk from Lisa as reward.  
The cops pushed her along, grunting out her Miranda rights.  
Jody shook her head, then nodded at the doc that he was cleared to tell.  
"He'll be fine. Don't worry. Adam is a great assistant. Might not even scar. Jody..." the doc greeted as he left.  
Jody ran up to Dean, all professionalism gone.  
"Geez Winchester... don't do these things!" she said, then hugged him.  
Sam was next and he pulled Dean into a bonecrushing moosehug.  
"Fuck, Dean... your cheek is all red and puffy! You're lucky Gabriel caught on that Marley was being very suspicious. He cracked her like an egg. It was awesome to watch. Then he called Jody, and this doctor Deveraux. They were all here within ten minutes."  
Dean hugged Sam back, squeezing his eyes not to let the tears spill.

"Was it really that short? It felt like hours. Sammy... she had a blade to Cas' throat. His throat, Sam! And she... Geez she is crazy! Like full on squirrelpoo, man."  
His voice trembled and he could sense the breakdown looming.  
Sam could too, so he ushered his big brother towards Adam, the medical assistant, outside.  
He parked Dean next to Cas, who sported a large bandage, stark white against his skin and hair.  
"Dean... are you ok?" he asked, his voice betraying his worry.  
Dean's heart clenched, breakdown inching nearer.  
"Cas... you got hurt because of me. I should ask you that!" he answered, voice pinched.

Casting a questioning glance at Adam who was checking his bandage, Cas cleared his throat.  
"Sure thing, man. I'm done here. I'll check out that bruise on your man's cheek before we leave." the man said and patted Cas on the shoulder.  
Cas slid over to where Dean was sitting, green eyes wide and his whole body trembling slightly.  
"Dean... you're not to blame! I'm just glad you understood my glances."  
Leaning his head against the trenchcoat, Dean breathed in Cas' unique oceany scent.  
"You're a fucking genius, Cas. I'm glad we're out of there, basically in one piece."  
Cas hummed and pressed a soft kiss on his head.

They stay like that for a while, Dean with his eyes closed and slowly calming down on the soothing scent that was purely Cas.  
Cas with his arm around Dean, rubbing Dean's arm up and down, and kissing this head occasionally.  
Sam and Gabriel sauntered into their sight, and Gabe looked unusually stern and serious.  
"She is going down! Nobody attacks my brother... Dean... I know I don't have to officially ask, but are you ok with that? Me taking her down? Cause Charlie brought something awfully dirty to my attention, which would not only end her career, but also land her in jail for ages, if used properly."

Dean glance at Sam, who nodded his ok. Seemed Gabe was doing this the legal way.  
"You burn her like the witch she is, Gabe. As long as I can dance on the ashes." he answered, hugging Cas close.  
Jody came over, hands in her pockets and a smirk on her face.  
"So, you boys wanna tell me something?" she joked, quirking an eyebrow at Sam's arm around Gabe and Dean curled in Cas' embrace.  
"Not much to tell, Jodes. I met Cas, we became roomies, then fucked it out." Dean snarked, tired of the questions, the innuendo and frankly, the whole day.

"Dean!" Cas called and shoved at him. "Don't be cras!"  
Dean chuckled, and kissed Cas' sweet, pink lips.  
"Sorry, Angel. But, yes, we're together, Jody. As are Sam and Gabe."  
Jody rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her spiky hair.  
"Oh crap... Bobby and Francisca in one room... gotta run my crew through riot training!" she moaned, as she clapped her hand to her brow.  
The Novaks and Winchesters burst out laughing.


	35. Chapter 35

**Ok peeps! Wrapping this one up. Not quite done, but getting real close! Still, Lisa's opinion does NOT voice mine. But who listens to such a crazy lady? Right?**

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Dean tugged on his tie, hating it with a vengeance.  
"Crap... stupid things never listen... I feel like one of the Blues Brothers."  
With a soft smile, Cas stepped in, carefully fixing the wayward piece of clothing.  
"It just copied mine. Refusing to be straight. Now, shush. You're cussing in the courthouse."  
Dean kissed him chastely on the cheek.  
"Sorry, Angel. Just nerves, I guess."

The doors behind them opened, and a clerk stepped out.  
"Mr. Winchester? Mr. Novak? We're about to start." she said.  
They nodded and followed her inside, where Sam and Gabe joined them.  
"All rise in the case of the State versus Braeden!" the bailiff bellowed.  
"The honourable judge Mosely presiding."  
Dean glanced to the bench where Lisa sat, clad in one of those horrible orange jumpsuits.

The judge, a portly dark woman with a stern look, sat down and rapped her gavel.  
"Sit down, people. We're here in the case against ms. Braeden, who stands accused of leading a prostitution ring, and assault with intent to cause greivous bodily harm, or even kill. How do you plead?"  
Lisa's lawyer rose. "Not guilty, your honour." he said in a smarmy voice.  
Dean wanted to scoff, but Cas' hand on his knee held him back.

Gabriel had found out that Lisa had used her contacts in Nemod to find and use vulnerable young girls. These she would woo, make them feel endebted to her, then make them pay off their 'debts' by letting them be used as 'gifts' for wealthy clients. Not clients from the firm, but from rich, deviant people who knew her as 'Ruby', the lady who had the perfect, docile escorts.  
The poor girls were slaves in all but the real sense. Lilith was Lisa's partner, who took care of day to day business, while Lisa was working at Nomed, and Marley was one of her scouts.  
Even thinking about this all, made Dean want to throw up.  
He'd never known, and he had lived with Lisa for years.

Cas squeezed his knee again, this time reassuring.  
"No-one knew, Dean. Don't be so hard on yourself." he whispered, knowing exactly what Dean was thinking.  
Dean put his hand over Cas' and squeezed back, looking over to his boyfriend.  
The thin, white line in Cas' neck was finally starting to fade a little.  
Dr. Devereaux was right. Adam had done a beautiful job.

Dean let his eyes slide over to where Sam and Gabe sat. The evidence Gabe and Charlie had found, meant Gabe had to come clean as mr. Gold, but after the initial shock had subsided, and Cas had shouted himself out of a voice about Gabriel being a manipulative, sneaky troll, it all was for the best.  
Crowley had raised his eyebrows, then smirked and raised his glass at Gabe.  
"Well... I must congratulate you, mr. Gold. I never even suspected. But I'm glad you were 'undercover' as it were. So, where do we go from here?" he'd said.  
Now, Gabe still worked maintenance, and nobody questioned why. He just had to attend meetings in person.

The trial was long and tedious at first, but then they got to the part where Lisa had threatened Cas. The mood in the court changed abruptly.  
Dean tensed up, Gabriel's upper lip curled in disdain and hatred, and Cas trembled slightly.  
Her honour, judge Mosely, looked down at Lisa.  
"Now why did you go to mr. Novak, ms. Braeden?"

Lisa cast a venomous look at Cas and snorted.  
"He had to pay! That filthy faggot took my boyfriend!"  
Her lawyer shushed her, but the words were out and nothing could take them back.  
Judge Mosely raised her eyebrows.  
"Really, councillor. I thought you had prepared your client. Ms. Braeden, I will not allow such disrespectful behaviour in my court." She turned to the DA. "So, mr Turner, do you have any witnesses to call?"

The DA, who was the same guy that had bought Dean the Johnny Walker for fixing his car, nodded severely.  
"The State calls Dean Winchester to the stand."  
Dean gulped and walked up to where the bailiff stood to take his oath.  
His guts knotted, and sweat broke out on his forehead, but he took the oath and sat down in the stand.  
He could do this. This was for Cas.

That night, the nightmares came back.  
Dean dreamt he was too late. He opened the door to Cas' office to see him lying in a pool of blood, Lisa cackling over his dead body.  
"Dean... Dean... wake up!"  
That was Cas'gravelly voice, but Cas was lying there, dead... blue eyes vacant...  
"Dean... you're having a nightmare! Please... wake up!"  
Cool lips brushed his cheek and that hint of oceany freshness tickled his nose.  
Dean opened his eyes, aware that tears were sliding silently down his temples.

"Cas..." he gasped.  
Warm arms around him, lips to his brow.  
"I'm here, Dean. I'm safe." Cas whispered softly into his hair.  
Dean turned around and caught Cas' lips in a desperate kiss.  
Cas kissed back, softly, sweetly and with infinite love.  
Dean relaxed under his lips and sighed contently.

Dean rubbed his head against Cas', like a kitten.  
"I love you, Cas. I... I **need** you."  
Cas hummed, kissing his hair.  
Pushing himself up to look into those amazing blue eyes, Dean licked his lips.  
"Cas... will you marry me?"

The cerulean eyes widened, blinked, then started to tear up.  
"Dean... Yes... YES!" Cas gasped out, hugging him and peppering him with tiny kisses.  
Dean basked in the glow of Cas' happiness for a bit, before pushing up again.  
"One thing, Castiël Novak." he stated.  
Cas did his adorable headtilt.  
"You wear that sexy, black coat on our wedding day!"


	36. Chapter 36

Judge Mosely sat and watched as the bailiff collected the note with the verdict from the jury. Het eyes slid over to Dean, and she winked at him.  
Dean gasped, but no-one else had seen it.  
Judge Mosley unfolded the note, read it, refolded it and looked over at the jury.  
"Has the jury reached a decision?" she asked, voice soft, but no-nonsense.  
The lead juror cleared her throat. "Yes we have your honour. In the charge of leading a prostitution ring, we find the defendant... guilty."  
Murmurs ran through the court, until the gavel rapped.  
"And in the charge of assault with the intent to cause greivous bodily harm, or kill, we find the defendant... guilty."

Dean slumped against Cas, rubbing his stinging eyes against Cas' shoulder.  
Guilty...she didn't get away with it, even with her fancy, 500 dollar an hour lawyer.  
The gavel rapped again.  
"Allright people, settle down. I still have some sentencing to do." judge Mosely called, her voice firm.  
She looked Lisa sternly in the eye.  
"Ms. Braeden... if I had seen an ounce of remorse in you, in all the times we have been here, I might have lightened my verdict. But you are one coldhearted lady. You have no regard for anyone, but yourself. Therefore it is my pleassure to sentence you to life imprisonment, no parole."  
The gavel came down hard, final.

Lisa started to squirm as the guards came to escort her off.  
"No! You can't do this! I've been framed! It's all your fault!" she yelled at the judge, at the guards, at Cas. Then her eyes caught sight of Dean.  
"Dean... Dean, baby, please... don't let them do this to me..." she plead, but Dean just stared at her, upper lip curled in disgust.  
He couldn't feel sorry for her, because he felt nothing at all as he looked at her.  
"Dean... come. We have an appointment." Cas said, tugging his sleeve.  
Dean turned from Lisa, who shrieked an obscenity at him.  
He grabbed Cas' hand and they left the room, not caring what happened behind them.

After they had decided on what flavour cake and pie they would serve on their wedding, Cas was abducted by Gabe to get a suit. Sam had to work, so he and Dean would do that another day.  
Dean pushed his shoppingcart through the aisles, deciding that today would be a good day for a steak dinner, with homemade fries (recipe from oma, the dear.) and a little tossed salad.  
His hand reached for a head of iceberglettuce, when a dark skinned hand covered his.  
"Why Dean... Hello again." a warm, soft voice said.

Dean turned to see judge Mosely's gentle eyes twinkle at him.  
"Your honour!" he gasped, making her smile broadly.  
"Honey, we're done in court now. You call me Missouri. So, I really wanted to ask, although I think I already know the answer: did you really leave her for that gorgeous, blue-eyed angel?"  
Dean could feel his nose scrunge up.  
"No, ma'am. She cheated on me, lots of times, with lots of people. And even though I thought she was pregnant at the time I left, I couldn't stay. I lived with my Uncle Bobby for a few months, then Gabriel, mr. Novak's brother, said his brother needed a roommate. So, we ended up in one house... and, Well..."

Missouri smiled warmly, patting his arm.  
"And now you're getting married. That's so sweet. And don't worry about Claire, hon. She'll lighten up soon enough."  
With that enigmatic remark, Missouri turned and left, leaving Dean gaping. They hadn't even told Bobby and oma. Just their brothers... And who the Hell was Claire?

 _ **Six months later**_

"Cas? You home, angel?" Dean called, hanging his leather coat in the wardrobe and toeing his boots off.  
"Yes... Dean... we need to talk." came the soft reply.  
Dean frowned and fiddled with his whitegold wedding ring. That sounded omnious.  
He made his way to the kitchen, where Cas sat at the breakfast bar, looking at the phone.  
"Hey Honeybee. What's up?"  
Cas didn't move, but still replied: "The ceiling, Dean. Now could you be serious?"  
Dean bit his lip. He still fell for it, every time. Cas was so litteral at times.  
"Sure. Cas... what's wrong?" Dean said, taking the stool next to his husband.

Cas turned his cerulean eyes on Dean.  
"Dean... I... it..." he sighed, running his hand through his hair, his wedding ring in stark contrast with the dark locks.  
"Dean, my best friend from college, Amelia, she... she died..."  
Dean's heart shattered at the miserable tone and teary eyes.  
"Oh no... Cas... I'm sorry, angel..." he said, trying to pull Cas into his arms.

Cas resisted, locking his eyes on Dean's veridian ones.  
"She has a daughter... and... Well... she kind of asked me to be her guardian, if anything happened to her... Because the father, he bailed as soon as he heard Amelia was pregnant."  
Dean glanced around the house. They might need a few adjustments, but it could be kidproofed.  
"Of course, Cas. I'd love a kid..."  
Cas chuckled through his tears. "She's fifteen, Dean."  
' _Ohhhh okay... so kidproofing not necessary then... Teen. Oh God!'_ Dean panicked a bit, but he couldn't let the kid face this all alone, now could he?  
"Fine, a teen girl then. We'll make this work, angel. Don't worry. So, What's her name?"  
Cas smiled and finally hugged Dean, before looking him in the eyes again.  
"Claire... our daughter will be Claire."

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 **And that was it for now... I started on Cas' story too. If you want to check that out: soon I'm going to post 'I won't let you face your life alone.' the second story in this series.**

 **The cover art was made especially for me but the AMAZING Tumblr artist Deannamb. Go check out her fabulous art!**


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